The authors cited studies suggesting that only 7 percent to 10 percent of long Covid patients fully recovered two years after developing long Covid. They added that “some manifestations of long Covid, including heart disease, diabetes, myalgic encephalomyelitis and dysautonomia are chronic conditions that last a lifetime.”
There was that study a week or two ago that suggested every covid infection comes with about a 3.5% risk of long covid if you're immunized, and 7% if not. As a TTRPG player I can't help but equate ~5% to rolling a Nat 1 on a D20.
It was 10-12% for vaccinated people and 10-30% for unvaccinated people (very broad range because unvaccinated people are less likely to particiapte in studies).
If you want to look it up its a Nature Review called Long Covid, Major Mechanisms
I have it, and it sucks. I hope the attention on it leads to new treatments, though I know that can take years. I also saw that Bernie proposed a bill to fund research and treatment but that will probably die in the House.
No, it's not due to the active virus but general dysregulation of the nervous system. It's likely related to inflammation that occurred during infection but there are more questions than answers at this point. NIH has a decent write-up on the symptoms, possible causes, and some of the avenues of research underway.