COVID is still not yet behind us.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly 3 in 10 adults who've been infected with the virus at some point experience long COVID long-term health problems from the virus.

While clinical research is still underway, advocates say more help is needed for those living with it.

Joining us with more on the illness are March a long COVID patient and Dr Gerry Christian, a medical researcher at the University of Illinois, Chicago, thanks to you both for joining us.

Dr. Christian, I want to start with you because you are leading an NIH research effort on long COVID.

How is what we know about long COVID now.

How's it changed in the last 5 years?

Yeah.

>> Thank you so much for having me tonight.

I think we learned a lot.

I think first is we now know what long COVID is.

We have a definition for long COVID.

I think all throughout United States and different parts of the world, we have a single definition, which is really the first step in making any advance.

The second is we have a way of knowing who's at risk for long COVID something we didn't quite know before.

So no one, these are individuals, particularly those who got sick with you earlier, variants of long COVID the pre Delta and the Delta variant swear maybe 2030% of people develop long COVID.

Now we know with the more recent strangest closer, maybe 5%, maybe 10%.

So we know that we're on the path towards viruses that are much less likely to cause long COVID.

also women are at higher risk.

People who have more severe illness or higher risk.

Those were not vaccinated.

And those who get recurrent COVID infections.

So we now know the target population should be most worried about 3rd thing that we know is that we're now developing greater expertise in diagnosing on COVID and developing multidisciplinary clinics to help individuals who are suffering long COVID.

So some progress made it sounds like Marta you had long COVID for nearly 5 years because you did contract it.

>> Kind of early on.

It was October of 2020 that year.

What has that been like for you last 5 years?

>> Very challenging.

I had a very severe case of COVID in October issues have 2020 and then for months I realized my now and taste just did not return.

And it took me a very long time to connect the dots to realize.

But I COVID even on healthcare executive.

It's hard to understand how everything relates year-long COVID.

So what I deal annual basis, daily basis.

I health issues with my brain.

I have trouble brain fog stuttering as it attacks.

My heart will race even though I'm at rest, Milos Erskine to it's harder to recover from illnesses and then I have stomach issues that may last for 3 months.

So that's another part of long COVID.

People don't know that you could have a certain issue that you had when you had COVID.

But it will last and set up for a couple weeks for 3 months.

And plus, I have a debilitating Alex Cobb Post Exertional malaise.

So that's take.

So even if I walk a short distance, I become very tired.

So mention all of that put together can be life changing for the activities and the responsibilities that you're allowed to keep up Correct.

I have to make accommodations.

I have to rest.

>> I have to plan for my time and I have to work just as healthy as possible to manage to treat the symptoms that I have Dr Krishnan.

Why is it such a challenge to diagnose and treat and why haven't we invested more in research and training?

Yeah.

>> So the first thing is made just have to remember that this is a new condition.

2019 is when the virus was identified as causing pneumonia like illnesses.

I think you heard on the previous segment how quickly we're able to make progress in developing vaccines.

So this is a new illness for learning.

I guess if you were to put this in the context of HIV pandemic, I think it took about 10 years from having the virus and Dana fight to having effective treatments.

That convertible was uniformly fatal disease to something we could manage more effectively in now with a completely different situation.

We're talking about treatments, maybe every 6 months.

That's just the pill you take every 6 months or an injection.

So I think early in the phase.

As I said, we now know what long COVID is.

We're trying to now fair.

Why do people get long COVID and how do we effectively treat it and what are the longer-term consequences?

And wolves just wanted to also mention that according to a study from the recover program that you are a part of.

>> Compared to white patients hospitalized with COVID-19 black patients had approximately twice the odds being diagnosed with diabetes and one and a half times the odds of being diagnosed with chest pain in the 30 to 180 days after infection and similar differences were also observed for for Hispanic individuals.

Marta, have you seen or how have you seen Latino communities struggle to access care for long COVID?

>> Well, were down in the trenches trying to vaccinate people.

And many people did not know how to access the vaccine.

They were afraid of going to clinics because of traditional fears.

So that was problem.

Number one, people afraid to get treatment to get help in the communities.

So we on the ground in the churches and the food pantries trying to help people who are hardly communities, just even to access care.

So that's a very big problem because they unable to address a health issue and they get worse and worse.

>> Dr question.

What what other types of health inequities, DC community space that might put at risk for long COVID?

>> Yeah.

I think the first to Marcus had these really nice legally access to care.

And I think we've made great strides in that.

I think we have a community health centers.

We have greater access to 8 to insurance.

I think this is an area that we need to continue to do our work.

The second is it reaching.

He's hardly reached communities and really raising the awareness to says Martos doing now, Martin, along with you need those and you're on Chicago and other groups.

I really going out to communities and building trust to talk about long COVID and engaging them in conversations.

So I think main point is recognizing those symptoms getting help early and going to places that have expertise in long COVID.

>> Margaret, you've been advocating for increased awareness about long COVID.

What types of benefits and supports to people with long COVID need.

>> They need to be able to get to clinician to understand the illness.

Mayo, clinicians don't understand it.

When I told him all about the symptoms I mentioned to you, they looked confused and they don't know what to do.

So you need to go to long COVID clinics, a deal with physicians who understand the on this who they can find treatments a deal with your particular issues.

Otherwise you can continue to get worse and some people drop out at unable to work and have very serious consequences if they don't address a lot COVID with the expert Dr Christian with probably 20 seconds left.

What more would you like to see?

>> Yeah, I think the it's right.

It's useful to kind of recognize that we're in the path here towards having major discoveries made in the treatment of long COVID.

>> Both Martin and I and others are actually part of national consortia are launching clinical trials.

So I would say this is a opportunity for all of us to be part of the solution and learn about the research that's going on and join and participate.

And let's get this solved quicker together.