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Comment by incrudible | Hacker News Reader

I can't really concern myself with a paywalled source in French.

"Long COVID" is a thing, but is it something unique and specific? Probably not:

https://www.vox.com/22298751/long-term-side-effects-covid-19...

As for ME/CFS being psychosomatic, that's a bit more controversial, with doctors on either side. Nothing is proven either way. Still, symptoms such as fatigue and brain fog are consistent with ME/CFS.

We like to dismiss such symptoms when it is convenient, e.g. when it occurs as a side-effect of a vaccine, while taking it rather serious when it occurs after some hyped-up new illness such as COVID. In either cases, it could simply be the Nocebo effect at work.

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I apologize for not being American and the press in my country costing money. I'll try to do better next time.

I note that your link astablishes that long covid is the thing, which the parent comment denies.

> I apologize for not being American...

There's nothing wrong with not being American. You should apologize for being French.

> ...and the press in my country costing money.

Indeed, it's absurd to charge money for articles written in French. They should pay you for reading them.

> I note that your link astablishes that long covid is the thing, which the parent comment denies.

Nobody in this thread denies that it exists. We're talking about what it is and is not.

> It's what happens when you stay at home too much and don't get enough exercise and have a poor diet.

Surely this means that "long covid" is not caused by the coronavirus infection itself, but by staying at home too much and a poor diet and not enough exercise. Is that not what this meant?

It is true that many "long covid" symptoms are vague symptoms like fatigue, it also true that many who self-report "long covid" never had a positive COVID test.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/these-patients-tested-ne...

It is also true that staying at home and listening to media dramatizations causes stress, which can cause the aforementioned symptoms.

So, if you put two and two together, you may come to the conclusion that many or even most "long covid" cases are psychosomatic and not caused by the virus itself, even in those people who actually were infected.

Like I said, this needs to be differentiated from symptoms that are clinically verifiable long-term effects of respiratory illness and viral infection.

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