OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Six years after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, researchers at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals in Omaha are using specialized machines to better understand the effects of long COVID.
Jake Massey, a physical therapist and researcher at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals in Omaha, said long COVID presents with a range of symptoms, including brain fog, fatigue, and changes in sleep. Researchers at the facility are using multiple machines to study how long COVID is impacting patients.
Data from the CDC in 2024 found that about 1 in 5 Nebraskans have experienced long COVID. The CDC also reports more than 4,500 COVID-19 deaths in Nebraska.
Massey said the number of people affected by long COVID may be even greater than current data suggests.
"I firmly believe that this number's a lot higher, and there's just people who don't realize that they have long COVID… they haven't really gone to see the doctor about, or doctor's not picking up on like this could be long COVID," Massey said.
Researchers at Madonna are now also looking into how long COVID impacts mental health.
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