Emerging research about omicron has so far been cautiously reassuring: Despite its ability to spread at a dizzying pace, the illness it causes appears to be milder overall, at least among the vaccinated and those who have received the booster shot.
Such encouraging data, however, are meaningless to people with long Covid-19: those who have suffered from its symptoms for months to more than a year following their initial infection.
"You might have a mild case," Laurie Bedell, 42, of Pittsburgh, said. "But most people that have long Covid had mild cases."
She caught the virus in December 2020 and continues to have debilitating pain, fatigue and other symptoms that have transformed her from a healthy, physically active woman to a chronically ill person unable to walk or do any form of exercise for more than 5 to 10 minutes at a time.
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