Georgia’s longhaul COVID sufferers wait for return to health years after state’s shutdown

FILE - In this Wednesday, March 11, 2020 file photo, a technician prepares COVID-19 coronavirus patient samples for testing at a laboratory in New York's Long Island. Confidence in the scientific community declined among U.S. adults in 2022, a major survey shows, driven by a a partisan divide that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File) FILE - In this Wednesday, March 11, 2020 file photo, a technician prepares COVID-19 coronavirus patient samples for testing at a laboratory in New York's Long Island. Confidence in the scientific community declined among U.S. adults in 2022, a major survey shows, driven by a a partisan divide that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

By Aaleah McConnell / Georgia Recorder July 8, 2023 5 min read

Robert Lyle, a 44-year-old Woodstock resident, is a member of the Georgia COVID long-haulers Facebook group, an online community of Georgians who share resources like which physicians are taking new patients nearby and what medications help bypass their virus symptoms the longest.

Lyle is like many members of the group who have had to either significantly reduce their working hours, retire or face termination due to the long-term toll of the virus.

“I’m not able to work anymore. I’m not able to go to the gym. Most of the time, I do have good days, but there’s a lot of times where I might be stuck at my house for two or three weeks at a time,” Lyle said.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services this year declared an end to the state of emergency established during the pandemic, but many Americans in their prime working years spend restless days hoping a solution to long-COVID will become clear soon.