By: Sean Rhomberg
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (UATV) — COVID-19 vaccine rollout continues to help decrease infections around the country, but for one group of COVID survivors, the vaccine could hopefully be the tool they need to finally get over the vaccine.
U of A student Josh Tebow contracted COVID-19 back in November. His case included many of the typical COVID-19 symptoms: loss of taste and smell, fever, aches and pains, chest tightness and fatigue.
Now, in March, Tebow said he still experiences some of the same symptoms he had when he was sick months ago.
“The chest tightness, that stayed with me a few months after the other symptoms had dissipated,” Tebow said. “I’m still finding that my taste is, it’s not gone, but it is altered.”
For Josh and many other COVID long-haulers, mundane tasks like walking up flights of stairs, running errands and other every day activities can take a serious toll on energy levels.
Derrick Rassinier, a french horn player at the U of A, said the long term COVID symptoms, while not debilitating, do affect his ability to play the instrument he loves so much.
“My normal day-to-day breathing is fine, but I have noticed that I have trouble getting big enough breaths to really play the instrument well,” Rassinier said.
Survivor Corps, a non-profit organization comprised of about 160,000 COVID long-haulers, conducted a nonscientific poll to find out if the COVID-19 vaccines could potentially help relieve many symptoms COVID long-haulers experience.
Of the 700 respondents to the poll, 39% of people reported that their symptoms improved after receiving a vaccine. 46% of respondents said that they experienced no change in their symptoms, and 15% said that their symptoms worsened.
Rassinier said that the first dose of his vaccine did not help relieve his loss in taste and smell or his shortness of breath. However, he still remains hopeful that the second dose could help relieve the symptoms that he has been experiencing since December.
“Maybe that will make a difference, but I suppose we’ll see,” Rassinier said.