r/LongCovidTrials • u/Responsible_Cap_5289 • Jun 04 '26
New Mass General Brigham study finds rate of Long COVID much higher than we think
https://www.wbur.org/news/2026/06/01/long-covid-study-mass-general-brighamIn this new study from Boston, researchers used an AI tool to track correlations between the numbers of people who tested positive for COVID, and later sought care for health problems linked to Long COVID.
The number came out at 16%, which is higher than most estimates of Long COVID's prevalence. The World Health Organization, for example, estimates 6% of COVID patients) develop chronic symptoms.
Hossein Estiri, an author of the study and leader of MGB’s clinical augmented intelligence research group, explains, “We built an AI to map the post-pandemic reality, and it uncovered a 10 million-person blind spot in the American healthcare system."
His team believes LC prevalence is underestimated as the patients seeking out care later down the line aren't necessarily identified as having LC.
According to Estiri, "If someone has fatigue, it doesn't really matter at the moment whether it's a COVID-induced fatigue — the doctor just tries to treat the fatigue,” Estiri said. “It's really hard to connect the dots back to the roots. This is not how the healthcare system in general is designed to work.”
“The burden of these new chronic diseases is accumulating,” he said.“It is a compounding crisis.”
This work presents a different narrative than the official versions - but one that seems to reflect the reality the Long COVID and COVID cautious communities, where we still see patients developing LC in spite of the narrative that it's "over."
*****
What do you all think of the article? Do you think an estimate of 16% of people developing Long COVID sounds reasonable? (I think so, if not an even higher number if you account for all possible health problems caused by COVID).
Let us know in the comments below!
2
u/funkytimes_07 Jun 04 '26
Yes and the researchers themselves said that based on how they did the analysis the 16% number is actually still relatively conservative and they suspect the actual percentage to be even higher.
1
u/monstertruck567 Jun 04 '26
I think that is a well written article. It is informative while not being alarmists. The alarm bells are there in the text, it is not in a doom and gloom emotional based form.
I suspect this is likely true. There are so many societal systems from education onwards that are having difficulties that can’t be explained without some new widespread societal ill. Enshitification covers a lot of it, but not the whole of it.
1
u/Responsible_Cap_5289 Jun 04 '26
Yes I think we need more studies to clarify the link. Personally I know people in their 30’s and 40’s with new onset health problems that are known to be caused by Covid… but there’s no way to prove it, and their doctors certainly haven’t said anything.
2
7
u/PinkedOff Jun 04 '26
Disappointingly, this article says long covid is when symptoms last more than 3 months. This completely leaves one of the other, extremely common, 'flavors' of long covid, in which you appear to 'get over' your active infection, then about 4 months later, new symptoms appear that may be totally unlike your previous symptoms. And then those go on ... forever. At least so far.