Long COVID is new and not well understood. The closing of the MaineHealth long COVID clinic (mentioned in a May 29 story) is a tragedy. It has removed one of the very few resources for both long COVID survivors and the primary care community. It degrades care and puts long COVID patients at a disadvantage.
MaineHealth spokeswoman Caroline Cornish is rationalizing when she says that long COVID patients “are best served by managing their health through their primary care team.” If the primary care team lacks the training in the diagnosis and care of the complexities of long COVID, they are next to useless.
People afflicted with symptoms like exhaustion and brain fog are not in a position to do the work of demanding the treatment they need. It is not their responsibility to educate their care providers. Maine is a long way off from having primary care providers be the directors of care.
This is the message I hear: COVID is over, so relegate care of the extenuating issues to the back burner. However, I know there are human beings suffering. And they have very few places to go. Portland may have a few resources. I can’t imagine who people turn to in vast rural areas.
Perhaps the Press Herald can do an article on the extreme lack of resources for the people of Maine who have long COVID. Maybe that will wake up members of Congress. Then maybe they can move up the chain and get the really big guys like the National Institutes of Health to pay attention. Long COVID is here, and people need help.
Jo Trafford
Portland
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