tl;dr: 20 million people have or had long covid in the US. 2 million in Canada. Reinfections increase risk of long covid.

I’m guessing there is a huge amount of survivorship bias going on in the world today.

Millions in Canada and US have long COVID

Al-Aly knows this aftermath well because he and his team at Washington University in St. Louis documented the first characteristics of long COVID and did the most widely cited research on the condition. The Tyee has highlighted his important work repeatedly.

Al-Aly testified that the condition of long COVID now afflicts at least 20 million Americans. Their disability represents an economic toll of $3.7 trillion in terms of lost productivity and lost lives. That’s a loss equal to the 2008 recession.

Canada shares this great burden. According to a recent Statistics Canada survey, **more than two million Canadians reported suffering from the symptoms of long COVID as of June. **That’s seven per cent of the adult population. More than half report no improvement in their condition over time. More than one in five Canadians battling long COVID on average took 24 days off from work or school.

Al-Aly also highlighted one of the key findings of that little-cited Canadian survey and even shared a graph from the study showing that reinfections heighten the risk of long COVID.

“Even if people managed to emerge unscathed after the first infection, they may get long COVID after reinfection,” warned Al-Aly.

There is a myth that frogs will stay in a pot of water until it boils and they die. This is untrue. They will only do that if you keep giving them treats.