In February 2020, Larissa McPherson first caught COVID-19. It started with a minor fever and a cough, but she didn’t think much of it. Nearly two years later, McPherson is one of the millions of Americans suffering from long COVID-19. "I was a very healthy person. I was a marathon runner," McPherson said. "My life will never be the same."Long haulers often suffer from chronic and debilitating conditions for months or years after the initial COVID-19 infection. They often require additional medical care, and some long haulers are unable to work because of the condition. With the current high case numbers in some areas across the country, health leaders said many more people are likely to come down with long COVID-19."It's literally double the highest case rate that we've had," said Chip Cohlmia, communicable disease prevention and public health preparedness division manager at the Jackson County Health Department in Missouri. "It's now a numbers game where the more people you have in that denominator, the more people you're going to end up having in the numerator."That could lead to strains on the health care system and economy long after the current omicron wave passes."It's the second pandemic," said Dr. Leonard Weinstock at Missouri Baptist Medical Center in St. Louis. "This is going to disable you; it's going to make it very hard to work."Weinstock has been leading a team of researchers trying to find ways to treat long COVID-19. His team just had a study published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases that could be the first step in finding more effective ways to treat patients with long COVID-19. The study found that the symptoms of long haulers were exactly the same as those with a common illness called Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, which can be treated by readily available medications."In light of the fact that most of the treatments are over the counter, I think this is a big boon to the patients who have long COVID," Weinstock said.He said he has treated some patients with those medications with positive results, including McPherson, who said that while her symptoms aren't gone, they have been improving. "If I can get this information out there to somebody that might be dealing with some of these symptoms, I can give them the hope that maybe tomorrow can be better," McPherson said.It's giving doctors hope, too. There are currently several clinical trials in the country that are enrolling patients using mast cell medications like montelukast and low-dose naltrexone available on ClinicalTrials.gov. Weinstock said he is also in the early stages of starting a trial in Missouri. 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
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In February 2020, Larissa McPherson first caught COVID-19. It started with a minor fever and a cough, but she didn’t think much of it. Nearly two years later, McPherson is one of the millions of Americans suffering from long COVID-19.
"I was a very healthy person. I was a marathon runner," McPherson said. "My life will never be the same."
Long haulers often suffer from chronic and debilitating conditions for months or years after the initial COVID-19 infection. They often require additional medical care, and some long haulers are unable to work because of the condition.
With the current high case numbers in some areas across the country, health leaders said many more people are likely to come down with long COVID-19.
"It's literally double the highest case rate that we've had," said Chip Cohlmia, communicable disease prevention and public health preparedness division manager at the Jackson County Health Department in Missouri. "It's now a numbers game where the more people you have in that denominator, the more people you're going to end up having in the numerator."
That could lead to strains on the health care system and economy long after the current omicron wave passes.
"It's the second pandemic," said Dr. Leonard Weinstock at Missouri Baptist Medical Center in St. Louis. "This is going to disable you; it's going to make it very hard to work."
Weinstock has been leading a team of researchers trying to find ways to treat long COVID-19. His team just had a study published in the that could be the first step in finding more effective ways to treat patients with long COVID-19.
The study found that the symptoms of long haulers were exactly the same as those with a common illness called , which can be treated by readily available medications.
"In light of the fact that most of the treatments are over the counter, I think this is a big boon to the patients who have long COVID," Weinstock said.
He said he has treated some patients with those medications with positive results, including McPherson, who said that while her symptoms aren't gone, they have been improving.
"If I can get this information out there to somebody that might be dealing with some of these symptoms, I can give them the hope that maybe tomorrow can be better," McPherson said.
It's giving doctors hope, too. There are currently several clinical trials in the country that are enrolling patients using mast cell medications like montelukast and low-dose naltrexone available on ClinicalTrials.gov. Weinstock said he is also in the early stages of starting a trial in Missouri.
