Thread by @mileswgriffis

For @PopSci, I reported on #LongCovid clinics, or "post-COVID care centers." Though these centers specialize in the disease, patients still face rejection, gaslighting, outdated (and harmful) therapies, as well as long lists of unanswered questions.

popsci.com/health/long-co…

1/ The first barrier to many of these clinics is the requirement of a positive test & referral. Many #pwLC were sick before tests were available & with new variants, tests aren't always accurate. Affording a PCP is also a privilege many don't have.

popsci.com/health/long-co…

2/ If patients clear these barriers, the usually wait months, sometimes even a year+ to be seen. With ~400 clinics in the U.S. and over 16 million #pwLC, thats about 40,000 patients per clinic if all seek care.

Many don't bc of distance, cost, & more

sciencenews.org/article/long-c…

3/ Once admitted, some patients told me that doctors at these speciality clinics gaslit them & said their symptoms were due to anxiety or depression.

“At best, he was ignorant,” one patient told me, "At worst, he was actively being harmful.”

popsci.com/health/long-co…

4/ Beyond inaccessibility & gaslighting, patients told me that some doctors at #LongCovid clinics aren’t even aware of recent research of the disease, nor its overlap with #ME, #POTS, #MCAS, and others, leaving many untreated & undiagnosed.

popsci.com/health/long-co…

5/ And unfortunately at some clinics, patients are prescribed outdated therapies like graded exercise therapy (GET) or programs resembling it, which can make their symptoms worse or disable them further.

statnews.com/2016/09/21/chr…

6/ Many of these mistakes made with #ME are repeating again with #LongCovid.

"There is a lot you can do for ME/CFS," Jaime Seltzer (@exceedhergrasp1) told me, "It is absurd that they are turning away good information because of stigma.”

popsci.com/health/long-co…

7/ Immunologist & leading Long Covid researcher Akiko Iwasaki (@VirusesImmunity) said that #pwLC are suffering immensely & that clinics would be a natural place to begin more clinical trials.

"We have to start trialing to find something that works now”

popsci.com/health/long-co…

8/ As patients wait for better care, ME specialist Lucinda Bateman (@LBatemanMD) told me, "It’s easier to train up a trusted doctor than to go searching for [ME specialists] when the numbers are still so low.”

theatlantic.com/health/archive…

9/ "I’m hopeful that the response to long COVID will improve," Bateman said, "But I would like to see it move more quickly and include all of the people with post-viral syndromes who are in need.”

popsci.com/health/long-co…

10/ Many thanks to @econhardship for their support in this project, as well as my editors, fact checkers, and brave sources.

economichardship.org