65. Science vs. Long Covid w/ Ziyad Al-Aly

Follow the Science

Some people still have symptoms from a Covid-19 infection picked up in 2020 and are wondering if there’s any relief in sight. Many suffer months of debilitating fatigue and neurological problems, and Covid-19 can increase risk for heart disease. Scientists are scrambling to understand why, and how to prevent or treat what’s come to be called "long Covid".

Ziyad Al-Aly has been a leader in research on long Covid. We talk about the symptoms he’s seeing in his patients, leading ideas for what’s causing long Covid, how infection affects the brain, the challenge of estimating the frequency of long Covid, and why he thinks a “Long Covid moonshot” is warranted.

Dr. Al-Aly is Chief of Research and Development at the VA Saint Louis Health Care System.

“Follow the Science" is produced, written, and hosted by Faye Flam. Today’s episode was edited by Seth Gliksman with music by Kyle Imperatore. If you’d like to hear more "Follow the Science," please like, follow, and subscribe!