Toronto Expert Says Don't Worry About Long-Term Health Damage From COVID-19 Yet
Like many others, you've probably wondered about the long term effects of COVID-19.
You may have even heard of people who have symptoms weeks, or even months, after testing positive.
Recently, a University of British Columbia study showed that up to 76% of COVID-19 patients report lasting health effects.
However, one expert suggests that Ontarians don't need to worry about this just yet.
Narcity spoke to Dr. Angela Cheung, a senior scientist at Toronto General Hospital Research Institute researching long-term effects on COVID-19 patients.
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I wouldn't say that [the symptoms] you see at three months are permanent, per se.
Dr. Angela Cheung
Cheung compared the lasting effects of COVID-19 to the ones seen in SARS or pneumonia.
"We often see some patchy abnormalities," she said, "from three weeks to six months [after contraction,] and we see minimal or mild fibrotic changes, but they're not really of any clinical significance."
Cheung says that a study done cross-country with a large number of participants would be needed to draw any conclusive evidence.
She admits that lingering symptoms from respiratory illnesses like COVID-19 aren't unusual.
"The reason we do research is not just to understand [COVID-19], but also see if we can find solutions as well, so that we can help people feel better and recover," said Cheung.