A professor and dean at Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Peter Hotez, said that the coronavirus pandemic would give rise to a more significant number of disabled people.
The coronavirus pandemic has infected more than 11 million people around the globe, with 544,036 deaths. But the health consequences of the coronavirus are overlooked and are likely to affect people in the future.
According to Dr. Hotez, the coronavirus will lead to a significant uptick in the number of people with physical disabilities and have difficulty in working. Moreover, medical professionals will experience an exponential rise in the disability of the survivors of the pandemic that is a significant concern for the US government. He added,
“The people who have had the virus now have a long-standing lung injury, cardiovascular injury, heart injury, and neurological injury as well that could make it difficult or impossible to work.”
Coronavirus has long-term effects on physical and psychological wellbeing, and these are prevalent for people with no health insurance and having low-income jobs. There is increasing evidence that people are opting for long-term work disability due to the coronavirus pandemic. Hotez said,
“In many ways, we’re going to be producing a generation of disabled individuals.”
Hotez explained in an interview that the people recovering from coronavirus are experiencing wheezing and coughing symptoms of coronavirus.
“And a lot of that is, and we see this flu as well and other viral pneumonia, it’s not because they are still infected with the virus. It is all scarring, and it takes the body a long time to remodel all the scar tissue and before the coughing stops.”
Additionally, the researchers Sivakumaran, Davies, and Sallakh at respiratory health from Swansea University in Wales have similar opinions.
“People who have experienced the symptoms of coronavirus are likely to have nervous system problems, kidney and digestive issues, and loss of weight and muscle mass.”
The chronic health issues are mostly affecting the people from low-income households with limited resources of healthcare facilities. The analysts and researchers believe that the death toll of the pandemic will go far beyond than expected.
