Why Covid’s Aftermath Will Be Felt for a Long Time: QuickTake

Covid-19’s devastating toll is often measured by hospitalizations and deaths, but the effects of the pandemic run far deeper and wider. Patients raised the alarm over persistent, often debilitating symptoms in early 2020. Other consequences, such as increased rates of dementia and heart disease, could surface years or decades from now, according to early findings — similar to how smokers are at increased risk for cancer and cardiovascular disease later in life. The impact has extended beyond the direct effects of the coronavirus as well. Stay-at-home orders and other measures aimed at slowing the contagion’s spread led to ...