cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/18206765
An analysis of people who were hospitalised with covid-19 in the first wave of the pandemic has revealed that the ongoing decline in their cognitive abilities is the equivalent to losing 10 IQ points
The cognitive abilities of people who were hospitalised with covid-19 during the first wave of the pandemic remain lower than expected, even years later, and there is some evidence that this is forcing them to change jobs.
“What we found is that the average cognitive deficit was equivalent to 10 IQ points, based on what would be expected for their age, et cetera,” says Maxime Taquet at the University of Oxford.
I had a full run of vaccinations and got COVID about 6 months later. Nothing serious, in bed for a few days, cold and flu tablets kept everything under control, a perfect case of the effectiveness of the vaccines in taking the edge off.
But for about two weeks after “recovery” I was constantly forgetting keys, or my wallet. Drove halfway to the airport for a week away for work one morning and went, “oh shit, where’s my wallet?” and I’d placed it on a bench behind my car when I put my suitcase in the back and didn’t pick it up again. I’m 50 years old, I can count on one hand the number of times I’d forgotten my wallet before that.
That brain fog eased off after that but I wonder sometimes if there are still long term effects that I’m not aware of.