{"id":36560,"date":"2024-04-17T10:44:36","date_gmt":"2024-04-17T14:44:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=36560"},"modified":"2024-04-17T15:21:29","modified_gmt":"2024-04-17T19:21:29","slug":"cronkite-news-long-covid-cases-remain-high-in-arizona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2024\/04\/17\/cronkite-news-long-covid-cases-remain-high-in-arizona\/","title":{"rendered":"Cronkite News: Long COVID cases remain high in Arizona"},"content":{"rendered":"\"Banner<\/a>
Banner University Medical Center, where Dr. Hsu works as medical director of ambulatory internal medicine. Photo by Jack Orleans<\/a> \/ Cronkite News <\/figcaption>\r\n
Arizona\u2019s long-COVID cases top nation\u2019s; Hispanics most likely to suffer<\/div>\r\n
Wednesday, April 17, 2024<\/div>\r\n
By Leah Mesquita<\/div>\r\n
Cronkite News<\/DIV>\r\n
cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A><\/DIV>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nPHOENIX — Andrew Archer has been recovering from COVID-19 for almost four years.

<\/P>\r\n\u201cMy life is so different (now), and I\u2019m slowly starting to accept that,\u201d Archer said. \u201cIt\u2019s like losing a part of you.\u201d

<\/P>\r\nArcher is a part of the estimated 18.1% of Arizonans to ever experience long COVID \u2013 a condition broadly defined by symptoms that continue to develop weeks, months or years after an acute COVID-19 infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

<\/P>\r\n\u201cI had searing pain from basically my scalp, to my little toe on both feet, all the way down my back,\u201d Archer said. \u201cI didn’t really have much of a respiratory issue, but I was in pain.\u201d

<\/P>\r\nAlthough the symptoms eased after a few days in December 2020, the cycle restarted when Archer received the Moderna vaccine the following February.

<\/P>\r\n\u201cI was terrified because I went right back to where I was in December,\u201d Archer said. \u201cAfter coming out of that, I realized I’ve been living in a fog, and I could tell because some of the work I’ve done was really bad.\u201d

<\/P>\r\nArcher, a finance director at the nonprofit organization Area Agency on Aging, said the \u201cweird issues\u201d really took effect following his second vaccine in March 2021.

<\/P>\r\n\u201cI didn’t have the strength to walk around very much,\u201d Archer said. \u201cI was always exhausted. I drive about 40 minutes between work and home and I would have to stop halfway and take a nap.\u201d

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\r\n\"Andrew<\/a><\/div>\r\n
Andrew Archer, long COVID patient. Photo courtesy of Andrew Archer <\/figcaption>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThis marked the beginning of a long, debilitating journey for Archer as he saw specialist after specialist in the search for a diagnosis.

<\/P>\r\n\u201cIn September (2023), I went to a cardiologist and everything was fine with my heart structurally,\u201d Archer said. \u201cBut I was (still) exhausted and at that point I started using my cane to help me walk.\u201d

<\/P>\r\nAfter seeing a pulmonologist, a neurologist and suffering two falls that landed him in the emergency room, Archer made contact with a doctor who diagnosed him with long COVID in January of this year.

<\/P>\r\n\u201cBanner Health opened a couple of long-COVID clinics,\u201d Archer said. \u201cThe first meeting I had, the doctor said, \u2018Yeah, you have it.\u2019 It was pretty blatant. \u2026Everyone (I saw before) just said, \u2018You’re fine, you’re fine.\u2019 And I’m like, \u2018Then why can’t I open a jar anymore?\u2019\u201d

<\/P>\r\nBut Dr. Harvey Hsu, medical director of ambulatory internal medicine at Banner University Medical Center, said long COVID is very difficult to diagnose.

<\/P>\r\n\u201cThe problem with long COVID is there’s over 200 symptoms that have been documented,\u201d Hsu said. \u201cSome people may not realize that their symptom is related to long COVID.\u201d

<\/P>\r\nHsu is one of the physicians who oversees Banner Health\u2019s long-COVID treatment program which has seen several hundred patients since 2020.

<\/P>\r\n\u201cWe\u2019ve probably seen 300 to 400 patients, but it\u2019s probably more than that now,\u201d Hsu said. \u201cWe give them advice then send them back to their primary care physician. We try to evaluate them and look for any other things that might be missed.\u201d

<\/P>\r\nBanner currently operates two long-COVID programs \u2013 one that connects patients to a doctor to assess their condition, and another focused on long-COVID recovery. Patients can call Banner\u2019s long-COVID clinic and get in touch with a nurse who connects them to a physician.

<\/P>\r\n\u201cWe’ll call and talk to the patient and ask, \u2018What are your symptoms?\u2019\u201d Hsu said. \u201cIf it seems like you’re somebody we\u2019re able to help, we’ll schedule you. \u2026Right now it\u2019s like a four-month wait.\u201d

<\/P>\r\n \"Harvey<\/a>

Dr. Harvey Hsu, medical director of ambulatory internal medicine at Banner University Medical Center. Photo courtesy of Dr. Hsu <\/figcaption>\r\n

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Treatment disparities<\/div>\r\nBut participating in the program is easier said than done. A patient is expected to frequently travel to a research office, regularly get blood work done, complete electronic surveys and obtain a primary care physician referral, all of which require financial stability and a flexible schedule.

<\/P>\r\n\u201cIf you don’t have a stable job or if you don\u2019t have a ride to come in (to the office), it would make it more and more difficult for you to commit to the study,\u201d Hsu said. \u201cI have patients who come and see me from out of state \u2026 they have to fly here or drive here. There’s a lot of resources that are necessary, since there’s only so many clinics in the Southwest.\u201d

<\/P>\r\nAccording to the Census Bureau, Hispanic respondents were more likely to experience long-COVID symptoms than any other group: Of Hispanics who contracted COVID-19, 35.9% reported having long COVID, compared to 20.9% of Asians, the group with the smallest long COVID rates.

<\/P>\r\nHsu said this racial inequality is mirrored in Banner\u2019s own program, as the majority of its patients are non-Hispanic white women.

<\/P>\r\n\u201cThose are the people who seek us out,\u201d Hsu said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean those are the only people who have long COVID, but those are the people who actually make up the majority of our patients in the study, in the recovery trial and (are) making appointments.\u201d

<\/P>\r\nHsu said that Banner has kept track of all COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital since the pandemic first started, and the demographics of those outside the treatment program agree with the Census Bureau\u2019s report.

<\/P>\r\n\u201cWe’ve had over 4,000 to 5,000 patients that we tracked for who were hospitalized (at Banner) who we’ve been following for several years,\u201d Hsu said. \u201cA large percentage were Hispanic and Native American. \u2026Ironically for the long-COVID program, the majority of our patients are white.\u201d

<\/P>\r\nThe Arizona Department of Health Services has tracked over 2.6 million cases of COVID-19 over four years in Arizona.

<\/P>\r\nBanner Health is one of many institutions participating in the National Institutes of Health\u2019s Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery Initiative \u2013 a set of clinical trials designed to evaluate potential long-COVID treatments simultaneously through drugs, medical devices and other therapies.

<\/P>\r\n

\r\n\"Kristen<\/a> <\/div>\r\n
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Kristen Pogreba-Brown, assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Arizona. Photo courtesy of the University of Arizona <\/figcaption>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nBut according to Kristen Pogreba-Brown, assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Arizona, the reasoning behind the Hispanic community\u2019s vulnerability to long COVID is still unclear.

<\/P>\r\n\u201cWhat we know about COVID is that certain ethnic groups and certain populations are more likely to get severe COVID,\u201d Progreba Brown said. \u201cBecause severity is a risk factor for long COVID, that’s one of the reasons why the thought is that there is a chance that you could have higher rates of long COVID in those populations.\u201d

<\/P>\r\nPogreba-Brown leads the university\u2019s CoVHORT study, \u201ca longitudinal research study of COVID-19 and post-COVID conditions.\u201d

<\/P>\r\n\u201cWe were just really looking for general long-term outcomes and consequences of not just the infection, but the pandemic in general,\u201d Pogreba-Brown said. \u201cWithin our study, we haven’t seen any major differences by race and ethnicity for people who are doing it yet, but it doesn’t mean that they don’t exist.\u201d

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