The son of Biden's top science advisor suffers from "long-term COVID"

The son of Biden's top science advisor suffers from "long-term COVID".

WASHINGTON - Andy Slavitt, a top coronavirus pandemic advisor to President Biden, announced Tuesday that his teenage son was suffering from "prolonged COVID," a variety of symptoms that continue to haunt people who contract COVID-19  are disease caused by the coronavirus.  Some of these symptoms can last for months, making long-term COVID a public health challenge even if the pandemic otherwise subsides.

"He is young and fit and in the prime of his life," said Slavitt, "but six months later he is still suffering from tachycardia, shortness of breath, and persistent and frequent flulike symptoms. His hands are cold to the touch.

Andy Slavitt, Senior Advisor to the White House COVID-19 Response Team, on Jan. 27.  (White House via AP)

Slavitt said his son caught the coronavirus last fall when infection rates were much higher than they are today and vaccines were not yet available.

"I know that at a young age it's easy to imagine that these things don't affect you," Slavitt said.  “A vaccine can feel unnecessary.  You feel healthy.  You know people who have had COVID and they are fine.  But we are still learning about the long-term effects of COVID.  "He added that younger people appear to be more seriously ill with COVID-19.

Slavitt spoke out during a briefing by the White House pandemic response team on Tuesday.  He began this briefing by jokingly referring to the type of graduation speeches that high school graduates and college graduates wore in May and offering clichéd advice on "realizing your potential" and "making the world a better place".

However, his real message was that young people should be vaccinated.  Many of them were already able to do so, as coronavirus vaccines were approved for people aged 16 and over.  Last week they were approved for younger teenagers as well.

Some people seem to experience COVID for a long time, even after just having a mild bout of the disease.The phenomenon appears to have persistent effects on cardiovascular health and cognitive function.  Patients also say they experience fatigue.

Since SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of the coronavirus pandemic, is barely a year old, its long-term effects on human health are not yet known.  And while COVID-19 was originally described as a lower respiratory disease, it appears to affect other aspects of physiological function.

Ilcira Roca will receive a COVID-19 vaccine from nurse Yelany Lima in Miami on Monday.  (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

Two patients with long-term COVID wrote in the New York Times in March that it was a "debilitating condition with full-body symptoms."  They argued that this is "one of the most devastating consequences of the pandemic and is likely to weigh on our society and economy for years to come".

As Slavitt clarified on Tuesday, the easiest way not to get COVID for long is to not get COVID at all.  And the easiest way to avoid COVID is with a coronavirus vaccine.

"Young people have gone through a lot in this pandemic," Slavitt said, mentioning school disruptions, missed vacations and stunted job searches.  Vaccines, he said, were the ticket to getting back to normal.

At a vaccination clinic in Oklahoma City last week sat a 12-year-old with an excitement that might have given Slavitt hope for his vaccination.  "I couldn't care less about side effects," he told a local news partner.  "I want the shot."