It was said not so long back that long COVID could cause cognition / intellect declines in patients. There were also claims that just catching COVID also caused those declines in, well, brainpower. Having now become a COVID statistic myself, I’m aware that I feel slightly less c capable than before the infection. But to be fair I’m also 99% certain my ADHD is increasing with age and I may actually exhibit AuDHD. So my evidence shouldn’t really be counted on.
But this article seems to show that if you caught one of the earlier variants of SARS-CoV-2 poor outcomes are more likely, if you’ve had two or more infections, also more likely and more likely to be worse, and if one of your previous infections was OG SARS-CoV-2 then more worserer again.
One Bright Spot
If you skim the article you’ll also have noted that they mention “Early variants were more virulent” and that implies that contemporary variants are less so. That’s a slight consolation, because it implies they may be less infectious, less potent in their effects. (Mind you, it also seems that NO variant is free of the intellect-dulling effects. We couldn’t be that lucky.)
And I’ve noticed that medical professionals have largely abandoned masks in favour of increased hand hygiene. Maybe there’s a pointer in that, maybe I’ve just met the least careful individuals in medicine. Make your own choices, I still wear a mask and also carry hand sanitiser. We made a good start on this, and we should keep up good habits.
After all, COVID is only one candidate for causing a pandemic. Another one is likely, indeed inevitable. Stay safe.