Intermountain Healthcare has launched a new Long COVID Navigator Program for people suffering from lingering symptoms long after the infection has passed.

The program will treat patients who are experiencing ongoing problems at least 12 weeks after testing positive for COVID-19. Some studies and surveys with patients show that between 30%-50% of people infected with the virus have lingering symptoms or other complications long after the infection has passed, according to IHC. Based on those figures, researchers estimate 100 million people worldwide have experienced long COVID.

In a Monday news conference, Dr. Ellie Hirshberg, a critical care physician for Intermountain Medical in Murray, and Dr. Dixie Harris, a critical care and pulmonary physician for Intermountain Utah Valley Hospital in Provo, said the program is designed to help patients find the resources they need for proper treatment.

“As far as we know, this is one of the first kinds of COVID patient navigation programs in the nation,” Harris said. “This is not a standalone clinic, but a multidisciplinary approach and resource for patients across the state of Utah who are experiencing long COVID.”

Long COVID refers to patients who have experienced persistent symptoms at least three months after the initial infection. These patients have been referred to as “long-haulers.”

“We have really tried to come up with a multidisciplinary approach with acute and post-acute COVID and we are trying to bring in multispecialties so we can get patients seen in a reasonable time frame,” Hirshberg said. “We all agree there are higher numbers than anticipated. We’ve been pretty booked.”

Both physicians said a majority of their patients are young, previously healthy individuals who weren’t sick enough to be hospitalized with COVID. However, they have never been able to completely shake some of the initial symptoms and have been experiencing new symptoms as well.

“The most overwhelming sentiment from our patients is frustration,” Hirshberg said. “Their symptoms are progressing despite their best efforts at trying to heal. I’ve personally seen a lot of healthy people who don’t have preexisting conditions. A lot of them are athletes or fully working individuals who have such profound fatigue and brain fog they are not able to get back to their pre-COVID activities.”

Harris said she has also seen many younger people as well as more females suffering from long COVID.

“I’ve certainly seen a fair share of males, but definitely more females,” she said. “I see a lot of patients with unusual complications that can affect the lungs. It’s an inflammation that starts about three to six weeks after infection. Blood clots are also being reported after a month or so after infection.”

Both physicians also said they see people who have headaches, chest pain, rapid heart rates, anxiety and depression, and body aches, among other symptoms.

“There have been upwards of 2,000 symptoms reported,” Harris said. “This is not a typical cold. Even patients just walking across the room can be short of breath and have a racing heart rate.”

Both physicians said there has been one common denominator among long COVID patients.

“I have yet to see somebody with long COVID who was vaccinated,” Hirshberg said. “I’ve seen people with long COVID who then got vaccinated, but I haven’t seen anyone who was vaccinated first.”

Harris said this is just one more reason for people to get vaccinated.

“This is a good reason not to catch this virus or try to catch it intentionally because you want to build up immunity,” Harris said. “The risk of long COVID drops markedly if you’ve been vaccinated. You really don’t want to have a headache for the next 12 months.”

Harris and Hirshberg said they want people to know they are being heard and taken seriously.

“The first thing I do is I talk to the patient and really listen to them and their symptoms,” Harris said. “The most important thing is to validate them when they say they don’t feel back to normal. Many times, their X-rays are normal and they don’t even need oxygen, but they don’t feel normal. This is what we see. These patients are suffering and we want to let them know we are hearing them and know they are suffering. We are all in this together and we are all learning together.”

The good news is that most patients do get better over time, the physicians said, but they need to take care of themselves, get proper rest and know that recovery can be a slow process.

If you feel you are suffering from long COVID, call 801-408-5888.

Newsletter