'Long COVID is a real condition,' doctors insist after study

FOX 5 NY's Linda Schmidt shows us the symptoms of long COVID and how vaccines are playing a role.

When Treva Taylor of Brooklyn got hit with COVID in January 2021, she barely survived.

"The nurse came in and said you have to fight. The man is dying next to you and if you don't fight, you're going to be dead," Taylor said.

The 57-year-old was in the hospital for more than six weeks.

Since that time, Taylor has been struggling with Long COVID. She is connected to an oxygen tank 24/7.

"When I left the hospital, I had zero lung capacity. I'm up to I believe 37%," Taylor said.

Doctor Leora Horwitz is with NYU Langone Health and said, "Long COVID is a real condition."

Doctor Horwitz is one of the principal investigators in a study that has uncovered new information about Long COVID.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

The research included nearly ten thousand Americans.

"People are legitimately experiencing symptoms that they did not have before they had the COVID infection," Horwitz said.

The preliminary research has identified 12 symptoms of Long COVID including:

Another major finding, the vaccines provide protection.

Doctor Girish Nadkarni is with Mount Sinai Hospital and is also a principal investigator in the study.

"There was a preliminary signal in the data showing that the vaccination was associated with a lower risk of Long COVID," Nadkarni said.

The Long COVID study is continuing.

"It will help us learn causes and hopefully therefore try to figure out what might be a good treatment," Horwitz said.