Norton Healthcare continues to treat COVID-19 long-haulers – WLKY Louisville

As Dr. Monalisa Tailor arrives to work on a Friday morning at Norton Community Medical Associates, the primary care doctor takes a look at her patient roster for the day. Of the patients she's treating, some are coming to her for help with long-term symptoms from COVID-19. They are called COVID-19 long-haulers and she's seeing symptoms persist for months or more. "Long-haul COVID symptoms are more likely if you've got the original strain of COVID back in 2020, I think it's like 70-75% of cases come from that time frame," she said. "For the Delta and the Omicron, those numbers have been less."Long-haul symptoms affect everyone differently, too. She says since COVID-19 was so novel, there's no research to show health care providers how to treat patients. "We don't really have a great fix for them just yet," she said. "So it's kind of like if you do come in with headaches as a result of this infection or lung issues as a result of this infection or maybe even like heart racing episodes, I've got to make sure I'm ruling out everything else," she added. One thing Tailor says has shown to help is getting the updated vaccine. "One of the things that we've seen in some of the data and studies is that getting the COVID, updated COVID vaccines has helped your body create its own antibodies to help fight off some of these long haul COVID symptoms," she said. The National Institutes of Health say research is uncovering some risk factors for long COVID, like those who had severe COVID-19, those with underlying conditions and those who didn't get vaccinated. Tailor says the best way to prevent long-haul symptoms is to not get COVID at all, so she encourages getting vaccinated.

As Dr. Monalisa Tailor arrives to work on a Friday morning at Norton Community Medical Associates, the primary care doctor takes a look at her patient roster for the day.

Of the patients she's treating, some are coming to her for help with long-term symptoms from COVID-19.

They are called COVID-19 long-haulers and she's seeing symptoms persist for months or more.

"Long-haul COVID symptoms are more likely if you've got the original strain of COVID back in 2020, I think it's like 70-75% of cases come from that time frame," she said. "For the Delta and the Omicron, those numbers have been less."

Long-haul symptoms affect everyone differently, too.

She says since COVID-19 was so novel, there's no research to show health care providers how to treat patients.

"We don't really have a great fix for them just yet," she said.

"So it's kind of like if you do come in with headaches as a result of this infection or lung issues as a result of this infection or maybe even like heart racing episodes, I've got to make sure I'm ruling out everything else," she added.

One thing Tailor says has shown to help is getting the updated vaccine.

"One of the things that we've seen in some of the data and studies is that getting the COVID, updated COVID vaccines has helped your body create its own antibodies to help fight off some of these long haul COVID symptoms," she said.

The National Institutes of Health say research is uncovering some risk factors for long COVID, like those who had severe COVID-19, those with underlying conditions and those who didn't get vaccinated.

Tailor says the best way to prevent long-haul symptoms is to not get COVID at all, so she encourages getting vaccinated.

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Norton Healthcare continues to treat COVID-19 long-haulers - WLKY Louisville