DETROIT – Doctors at Henry Ford say now is not the time to let up on COVID precautions.
They also said people should not have the mindset of thinking they’re going to get it anyway.
“We tried to do as much as we could, but we ended up getting it and for me, it never went away,” Jeff Whitmer said.
Jeff Whitmer is experiencing something known as “long COVID.” Jeff and Allison Whitmer got COVID in 2020. While Allison Whitmer recovered within several days, it’s been more than a year and Jeff Whitmer still has symptoms.
“I just never really got better and it eventually ended up getting worse a couple months down the line,” Jeff Whitmer said.
As COVID cases are trending downward, the Henry Ford Health System is sounding the alarm about long COVID. It’s a disease they say can be worse than the initial illness.
Symptoms of long COVID can range from severe fatigue, cognitive dysfunction and mobility issues. Medical experts are warning people against trying to intentionally get COVID.
Now that vaccines are available, Jeff Whitmer hopes others will protect themselves.
“The problem is I’m not getting better and I still can’t do what I used to do and I’d like to get back to doing those things,” Jeff Whitmer said.
Read: Complete Michigan COVID coverage