Madison Area Lyme Support Group

Long Covid may be no different from other post-viral syndromes such as those experienced after flu, according to new research from Queensland Health.

The lead author of the study, the state’s chief health officer Dr John Gerrard, said it was “time to stop using terms like ‘long Covid’” because they imply there is something unique about the longer-term symptoms associated with the virus, and in some cases create hypervigilance.

There are different definitions of long Covid but the World Health Organization defines post-Covid or long Covid as occurring in people still experiencing symptoms three months after their initial Covid-19 infection, when those symptoms can’t be explained by an alternative diagnosis. (See link for article)

Important quote:

Gerrard said long Covid may have appeared to be a distinct and severe illness because of the high number of people infected with Covid-19 within a short period of time, rather than the severity of long Covid symptoms.

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**Comment**

The author states that the symptoms patients experience are real but that the incidence of these symptoms is no greater in COVID than it is with other respiratory viruses and that using the term ‘Long COVID’ is misleading and harmful.

He also admitted that the findings are associations and do not represent prevalence as well as the fact there was no laboratory pathophysiological assessment making it impossible to detect if this is indistinguishable from flu-related or any other post-viral syndrome.  But, it’s important to mention here that the PCR test used is utterly useless and can’t detect if a person has COVID or just the flu, and it can’t identify variants.

But to keep the COVID narrative alive and well he states that because 90% of people in Queensland are ‘vaccinated’ with the gene therapy when Omicron emerged, the lower severity of COVID could be due to ‘vaccination’ and the variant.

Research and reality; however, shows just the opposite.

There is actually increased risk of new variant infections which can be severe in the ‘vaccinated’ only, which has been recorded many, many times.