States where people were skeptical about the threat of Covid have some of the highest rates of long Covid, data shows.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today published a state-by-state breakdown of rates of the difficult-to-diagnose disease, based on self-reporting.
It revealed that in 2022 – the latest data available – seven percent of Americans reported having ever experienced long-Covid, around 18million.
Rates were highest, at 10.6 percent, in Republican-led West Virginia. The lowest rate range, 3.7 percent to 5.3 percent was observed in Washington, DC.
Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Alabama, Tennessee, and West Virginia fell into the highest prevalence grouping – 8.9 percent to 10.6 percent.
Regionally, prevalence tended to be higher in the south and Midwest and lower in New England and the Pacific northwest.
Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine all had the second-lowest prevalence of residents reporting long-Covid, at 3.7 percent to 5.3 percent.
The health agency analyzed data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which includes information from more than 400,000 American adults.
Respondents were sampled using random phone calls. Long Covid was defined as the self-report of any symptoms lasting three or more months that were not present before getting infected.
The CDC report did not provide an explanation for the rates, but states with higher long Covid prevalence also tended to have more Covid cases per 100,000 residents throughout the pandemic.
Additionally, states with more long Covid sufferers also tended to have lower vaccination rates, plus high rates of obesity and other chronic health conditions.
Countless surveys have also shown that people in Red states and felt the danger of the Covid virus was overblown.
In Montana, just 12 percent of residents have received an updated Covid booster and the state’s case rate was 36,400 per 100,000 residents.
By comparison, Washington, DC, has 32 percent of its residents up-to-date on boosters and a case rate of 23,730
Long Covid is estimated to affect between nine and 20million Americans, but it is notoriously difficult to diagnose as most symptoms resemble other health conditions and most diagnostic tests – like a urinalysis or x-rays – appear normal.
Patients are often dismissed by doctors who think it’s all in their head or have another condition entirely.
The condition consists of a constellation of symptoms that persist after someone has recovered from their initial Covid infection, including unrelenting fatigue and brain fog.
However, a study published in September 2023 found blood tests of people reporting to suffer from long Covid have distinct biological differences from those who do not have the condition.
The study suggested blood tests could be useful in identifying possible treatments for symptoms, giving hope to those who report living with the condition.
The CDC report stated: ‘The findings in this report address an important data gap in knowledge about the prevalence of Long COVID.
‘Given the increased health care needs among persons experiencing Long COVID, ongoing assessment of state- and territory-level prevalence data could guide policy, planning, or programming.’
‘State-level estimates might also help identify geographic disparities in Long COVID across the United States that could guide interventions to promote health equity.’
