What is Long COVID?

It goes without saying that COVID-19 has impacted the lives of many across the world, but something that is seldom discussed is what happens to the body after COVID subsides. Symptoms lingering after an individual has recovered from COVID is what is known as Long COVID ^[1]. These symptoms can range from brain fog to depression or anxiety and have an unknown duration as of right now. Even scarier, Long COVID has been noted as a cause of death on certain individuals’ death certificates ^[2], with the highest Long COVID death rate being among American Indian or Alaska Native males ages 85+ ^[2]. Long COVID is still very much under research, as there is not a set definition for the term ‘Long COVID’ ^[3], all we know is that it’s here and impacting many communities and populations across the world. The wide variety of symptoms affect the everyday life of those who are sick, impacting work, leisure activities, and even their wallets. The non-medical side effects of Long COVID are also felt across the world. The total economic cost of Long COVID in the U.S. is estimated to sum to about $3.7 trillion ^[4], including reduced quality of life, reduced earnings, and increased medical expenses. In the United States, millions are out of work due to the effect of Long COVID, and this spread is distributed rather unequally between races/ethnicities, thus heavily impacting the economy.

Our Thesis

The lack of access to quality medical and health services, coupled with inadequate information and education about Long Covid has resulted in a public health crisis disproportionately affecting Latino communities in Eastern Washington, particularly those from low-income and rural backgrounds. This crisis is further exacerbated by a shortage of medical infrastructure, mistrust of the government, and limited financial assistance for medical treatments. To address this issue, there needs to be a comprehensive government intervention and policy reform that addresses these underlying issues and provides resources for training in the assessment and treatment of Long COVID and increasing the number of Spanish-speaking providers in Eastern Washington. To meet the needs of communities impacted by Long Covid, community-based organizations need to be empowered with education about the illness and research-driven plans for assistance.

Who we are

We are a group of 14 undergraduate students from the University of Washington Information School coming from all different backgrounds and concentrations. Led by Frank Martinez and Dr. Leo Morales, in partnership with the UW Latino Center for Health and Adios COVID, we have been brought in to research Long COVID—a little-known problem affecting communities across the world. Being from a Washington-based University, it was decided that we would uncover how Long COVID is affecting the population in our great state, in particular, Latinos in Eastern Washington. Throughout our 10-week quarter, we have developed this website and created an open-source research system, collecting data from both field and pre-existing research. To learn more about everyone involved, scroll down.