Image via Getty / Ksenia Shestakova
An Idaho man who says he was previously ‘one of the foxes’ who believed the pandemic would magically end after the 2020 election is now a COVID-19 long hauler.
The story of 63-year-old truck driver Paul Russell begins on a drive back to the state from Florida last November. At one point on his journey, Russell said in a recent statement Idaho statesman report by reporter Audrey Dutton, he became ill, but he did not immediately realize that his sudden deteriorating health was the result of the virus.
When he got home, he stayed away from his wife and rather slept in their caravan. A subsequent COVID-19 test confirmed he was positive, a revelation that inspired Russell to stay in the trailer for another two days before telling his wife that he needed to be taken to a hospital.
Russell eventually spent several days in the ICU before showing moderate improvements and being moved to a standard room. All things considered, Russell – who also enrolled for a new potential pandemic drug in a clinical study – spent 16 days in the hospital. According to his doctor, he will now be on oxygen for the rest of his life.
St. Luke’s was one of about 60 locations around the world to offer patients like Russell the chance to get the experimental drug between June and January. Thanks to @ karensmiller1, Cleary Waldren and Mr. Russell himself for talking to us. Audrey Dutton (@audreydutton) March 9, 2021
“Before I came down with the virus, I was one of the foxes who thought the virus would go away the day after the election,” Russell, whose other symptoms include memory loss and speech complications, told Dutton. ‘I was one of the conspiracy theorists. … All these people who say it’s fake, blah blah blah, they’re lying to themselves. ”
The phenomenon of ‘long-term transport’, although not discussed nearly enough amid the ongoing coverage of the socially changing pandemic, has been a cause for concern for some time. In a reflective article shared earlier this month, Anthony Komaroff, editor and Harvard Health Letter editor, pointed out that tens of thousands of people in the U.S. alone had a long-term illness after a positive COVID-19 test. These symptoms can persist even months after the virus is no longer detected in the body. Meanwhile, typical cases of those contracting COVID-19 see a recovery period of only a few weeks.
As much is still being learned about COVID-19 and its short- and long-term impact, further studies are needed to gain a deeper understanding of the long-term experience. The CDC confirmed last year that multi-year studies are already underway.
In a study by dr. Natalie Lambert and Survivor Corps of July last year, the analysis of the responses to the Facebook survey suggested that the long-term symptoms are “much more” than what the CDC then reported.
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