In March 2020, Hannah Davis fell ill, and everything changed. Her respiratory symptoms were mild, but the neurological and cognitive fallout was frightening.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could tell very early on that something was wrong with my brain,\u201d she said after getting sick with covid-19.<\/p>\n
And Davis had quantitative proof \u2014 her score for processing speed on a cognitive test dropped from the 96th percentile<\/a> right before the pandemic to the 14th percentile after her coronavirus infection.<\/p>\n Davis<\/a> had been a prolific creator of art and music using machine learning. \u201cI used to be someone who is thinking all the time, just had a constant flow of ideas,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s entirely gone.\u201d<\/p>\n Five years later, Davis is one of an estimated 20 million Americans<\/a> and 400 million people worldwide<\/a> who have had long covid, in which symptoms persist or newly develop more than three months after a coronavirus infection.<\/p>\n Neurocognitive symptoms of long covid are among the most common, affecting 18 to 36 percent<\/a> of patients \u2014 and among the most devastating. Many people have reported cognitive disabilities, with some having to stop working.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In March 2020, Hannah Davis fell ill, and everything changed. Her respiratory symptoms were mild, but the neurological and cognitive fallout was frightening.<\/p>\n \u201cI could tell very early on that something was wrong with my brain,\u201d she said after getting sick with covid-19.<\/p>\n And Davis had quantitative proof \u2014 her score for processing speed on a cognitive test dropped from the 96th percentile<\/a> right before the pandemic to the 14th percentile after her coronavirus infection.<\/p>\n