Study finds Oklahoma leads the nation in long Covid

Nearly one in every four American adults who get Covid-19 suffer from long Covid, but a new study found Oklahoma has the highest rate in the country.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Nearly one in every four American adults who get Covid-19 suffer from long Covid, but a new study found Oklahoma has the highest rate in the country.

According to the study, 34% of adults in Oklahoma are suffering from long Covid.

Dean of OU's Hudson College of Public Health Dale Bratzler says its due to multiple things, but one reason stands above all others.

"Patients who are not vaccinated have a greater risk of getting Covid-19 long term symptoms," Bratzler said.

Bratzler says Oklahoma has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country, which is a big reason why Oklahoma leads the nation in long Covid.

"In Oklahoma, we had pretty low vaccination rates," Bratzler said. "So we had high rates of Covid. We had the second highest death rate in the nation from Covid-19."

Long Covid is defined as long term symptoms lasting more than 28 days, and those who aren't vaccinated aren't the only ones at a greater risk.

"People who are chronically ill, particularly people with obesity, diabetes, chronic lung disease, heart disease, high blood pressure, which is a big population in Oklahoma," Bratzler said.

Bratzler says they aren't exactly sure what causes long Covid, but there are three prevailing theories they have.

"The first is that in some people, the virus persists," Bratzler said. "There have been autopsy studies that showed that if somebody even recovers from Covid-19 and then subsequently die of some other reason, you can still find the Covid virus in many, many of their tissues, including the brain."

The second is that it overstimulates the immune system, resulting in joint pain, fevers and other things.

"The third is it appears that in some people it becomes almost a gut disease that affects the microbiome," Bratzler said.

While research on long Covid continues, Bratzler says one thing is for certain—being vaccinated helps.

"We have very good drugs to treat Covid with," Bratzler said. "Now they're underutilized, but they can reduce long term symptoms by again, reducing the severity of the illness of Covid-19."

Bratzler says there are a variety of clinics across Oklahoma who are doing studies and participating in clinical trials on Long Covid.

He advises those who are experiencing persistent symptoms to seek out those clinical centers because they can help.