Some Covid-19 long haulers say vaccines may be relieving their symptoms. Researchers are looking into it

Smyth says that after coming down with an acute infection in March 2020, she continued experiencing a constellation of health issues. For months, she has suffered from breathlessness, irregular and rapid heartbeat, diarrhea, and unusual skin rashes. Like many "long haulers," Smyth's fatigue was a constant "knock-down-pass-out-for-15-hours pathological exhaustion," she explained in an email to CNN.

 

A writer and humanities professor in Holyoke, Massachusetts, she had difficulty even recalling basic words she used every day, such as "punctuation."

 

Her life as a scholar and an avid swimmer had crumbled.

 

"In the end, I lost two jobs, the end of my mother's cognitive life and her transition into dementia care, a partner and home, all financial security—and, I feared, my life and identity as an endurance swimmer (and) athlete," she said.