Reimer calls findings from COVID fog study 'alarming'

The medical lead of Manitoba’s Vaccine Implementation Task Force said a new study on COVID fog out of New York’s Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory is “alarming.”

According to Dr. Joss Reimer, the study looked at the 185 million documented COVID-19 cases worldwide and found neurological symptoms – including persistent cognitive impairment -- in one in four people.

“That’s a really alarming finding,” she said at a news conference on Wednesday.

Reimer noted the symptoms were more common in severe cases that required hospitalization; however, even people with mild symptoms experienced higher rates of lasting cognitive dysfunction.

“When I say cognitive dysfunction I mean that a person has persistent concentration difficulties, has problems with verbal or non-verbal learning, has short-term or working memory loss, and many other symptoms related to the brain – all of which can significantly affect their daily life at home, at school and at work,” Reimer said.

Reimer added that long-COVID cognitive syndrome, referred to as COVID fog, also includes increased rates of anxiety, depression, disordered sleep and fatigue.

Reimer explained some other recent scientific findings found a link between having severe COVID-19 that required hospitalization and having a neuro-inflammatory response.

“That means swelling of brain tissues, and this might explain how COVID fog happens,” she said.

Reimer noted that people can do their part to prevent the symptoms associated with long COVID by protecting themselves to the fullest extent possible.