On March 11, 2020, the World Well being Group formally declared the novel coronavirus a pandemic. The choice would change the world as we all know it — how we reside, work, work together with one another — and mark the start of a brand new period wherein we coexist with COVID-19.The pandemic has since been declared over, however the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, continues to flow into, mutate and infect individuals across the globe.Though many individuals who’ve gotten COVID-19 have recovered and gone on with their lives, some have been left with persistent signs and debilitating well being issues for which there isn’t a treatment — which we now know as lengthy COVID.What’s lengthy COVID? Lengthy COVID refers to signs and well being issues that proceed, emerge, or persist 4 or extra weeks after recovering from acute COVID-19 an infection, in accordance with the U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention.It goes by a number of completely different names, together with post-COVID situations (PCC), long-haul COVID, and post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC).Lengthy COVID isn’t one sickness, however reasonably an umbrella time period to explain a variety of signs, situations and illnesses, which may range from individual to individual.Lengthy COVID signs generally embrace fatigue, mind fog, dizziness, complications, shortness of breath, joint ache, nerve points, gastrointestinal issues and lots of extra. The constellation of long-term well being results can have an effect on each organ system within the physique, Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, chief of analysis and improvement on the VA St. Louis Well being Care System, tells TODAY.com. “Signs are on a spectrum from delicate to extreme and profoundly disabling,” says Al-Aly. The cognitive deficits related to lengthy COVID, resembling decreased consideration and reminiscence, could be particularly debilitating.Some sufferers expertise slower processing speeds and diminished govt functioning, which implies they might wrestle to synthesize data or make choices, James Jackson, Psy.D., neuropsychologist at Vanderbilt College and writer of the guide “Clearing the Fog,” tells TODAY.com. “Government functioning impairment is a giant cause why we see so many individuals with lengthy COVID who’re not within the office,” Jackson provides. A latest examine within the New England Journal of Medication discovered that folks with lengthy COVID have IQs which might be six factors decrease on common than individuals who have by no means had COVID. The cognitive deficits can contribute to worsened psychological well being outcomes, and vice versa, says Jackson.How lengthy does lengthy COVID final?Lengthy COVID signs can final “weeks, months or years,” in accordance with the CDC, and should persist or go away and are available again once more.Akiko Iwasaki, Ph.D., director of the Middle for An infection & Immunity on the Yale College of Medication, tells TODAY.com lengthy COVID signs are inclined to final for 2 months or extra.Is there a protracted COVID check?There aren’t any laboratory assessments to diagnose lengthy COVID, the specialists observe. As a result of multitude of signs, there isn’t a universally agreed-upon set of diagnostic standards both, says Al-Aly. “Loads of it’s affected person historical past and a technique of (elimination) of different potential causes, so docs would possibly carry out a number of completely different assessments to exclude different illnesses that could possibly be leading to related outcomes,” says Iwasaki. Whereas many individuals with lengthy COVID have proof of their acute an infection, resembling a earlier PCR or antibody check, some could have by no means examined constructive or not know they have been contaminated, per the CDC.A 2023 examine revealed within the journal Nature confirmed individuals with lengthy COVID could have sure blood biomarkers, indicators of the situation within the physique, which could possibly be promising for growing diagnostic assessments. Nonetheless, as of now, diagnosing lengthy COVID stays a posh and sometimes difficult course of. “Loads of occasions, persons are being dismissed, and (instructed) it’s of their head or this doesn’t exist. … We all know it exists, we all know it’s a giant deal,” says Al-Aly. How frequent is lengthy COVID?In 2022, practically 7% of adults within the U.S. reported ever having lengthy COVID, in accordance with a report from the CDC. Nonetheless, the true variety of individuals affected could also be increased, the specialists observe. “We see a superb quantity of variation by way of incidence charges. I’ve seen these numbers vary from 5-20% of sufferers,” Dr. Rainu Kaushal, chair of the division of inhabitants well being sciences at Weill Cornell Medication, tells TODAY.com. “Relying on the way you outline lengthy COVID, it may additionally have an effect on the charges you’re seeing.”There’s an ICD-10 diagnostic code for lengthy COVID (which is used for medical information or demise certificates, for instance), however this code isn’t uniformly used, Kaushal provides. This will additionally affect statistics.Who will get lengthy COVID?Anybody who will get COVID can develop lengthy COVID — no matter age, race, gender, severity of an infection, vaccination standing or underlying well being situations.“We have now children with lengthy COVID, (and) we have now people who find themselves 100 years outdated with lengthy COVID,” says Al-Aly.Many individuals additionally get lengthy COVID even when they did not really feel sick. “The overwhelming majority of individuals develop lengthy COVID after a gentle an infection,” says Iwasaki. Even in the event you recuperate totally from the primary an infection, it’s potential to develop lengthy COVID after every subsequent reinfection.Nonetheless, some knowledge signifies that sure teams could also be at elevated danger.In response to CDC knowledge from 2022, adults between the ages of 35 and 49 have been almost definitely to expertise lengthy COVID, and girls have been extra doubtless than males to have had or at the moment have lengthy COVID.Individuals who had a extreme acute an infection, particularly those that wanted to be hospitalized or handled within the intensive care unit can also be at increased danger, says Iwasaki, in addition to individuals who have underlying well being situations and people who are unvaccinated.Well being inequities can also put individuals from sure racial or ethnic minority teams at higher danger, per the CDC.Research have proven that in comparison with white adults, Black and Hispanic adults who had extreme COVID-19 have been extra more likely to develop signs related to lengthy COVID, but in addition much less more likely to be recognized, in accordance with the Nationwide Institutes of Well being.Moreover, sure teams could face higher obstacles to well being care, and a protracted COVID prognosis, together with those that are low-income.Vaccination and the antiviral paxlovid can scale back the chance of growing lengthy COVID, says Al-Aly, however the one solution to fully stop it’s to not get COVID-19 within the first place. What causes lengthy COVID? Scientists have no idea precisely what causes lengthy COVID, however there are a number of theories. One of many major ones is named viral persistence. “Whether or not the virus is replicating or remnants of viral merchandise are persisting, that may be stimulating the immune responses which leads to these signs,” says Iwasaki.The concept is that some people don’t totally clear SARS-CoV-2 after an infection, and the virus or its remnants stay in “reservoirs” within the physique, says Kaushal.A 2023 examine revealed in Cell confirmed that the gastrointestinal tract could also be a reservoir for the virus, and that these reservoirs may impair serotonin manufacturing within the physique, for instance, which may result in cognition-related signs, Al-Aly explains.One other principle is that the an infection with SARS-CoV-2 triggers a sort of persistent, systemic irritation that takes time to resolve or in some circumstances doesn’t resolve in any respect, the specialists observe.Scientists are additionally exploring the hyperlink between lengthy COVID and autoimmune situations. “We all know that loads of several types of infections can set off autoimmune illnesses,” says Iwasaki. One instance is the Epstein-Barr virus, which is linked to a number of sclerosis, in accordance with a 2019 overview on revealed in Viruses.”I feel some persons are affected by autoimmunity attributable to SARS-CoV-2 an infection,” says Iwasaki. Lastly, some hypothesize that SARS-CoV-2 could also be reactivating different, latent viruses within the physique. “All of us carry a number of latent viruses, notably within the herpes household, resembling Epstein-Barr and the Varicella Zoster virus. The speculation is that these can reactivate after an acute an infection with SARS-CoV-2 and trigger signs related to lengthy COVID,” says Iwasaki.Is there a therapy for lengthy COVID?“We don’t have a treatment,” says Al-Aly. Though this can be a very energetic space of analysis, there are nonetheless no particular therapies or FDA- authorized medicines for lengthy COVID, Al-Aly provides. As a substitute, therapy is essentially targeted on managing the completely different signs or situations, which can contain varied specialists and therapies. “That actually represents a collective failure to seek out therapies for lengthy COVID to date, going into the fifth yr of the pandemic,” says Al-Aly. Nonetheless, there are a selection of lengthy COVID clinics that purpose to deal with the wants of sufferers. Scientific trials are underway, such because the NIH RECOVER Initiative, to judge therapies and discover solutions about lengthy COVID. Within the meantime, what is identified is that many individuals are struggling, and lengthy COVID can have an effect on the entire physique. TODAY.com spoke with six sufferers, who shared how their lives have modified months to years later. Learn on for his or her tales and an in-depth have a look at the lengthy COVID signs that they battle daily.Higher row (left to proper): Cynthia Adinig, Sue Miller, Chimére L. Sweeney. Backside row (left to proper): Charlie McCone, Tony Marks, Joel Fram.Courtesy Joel Fram /
Courtesy Sue Miller / Courtesy Chimére L. Sweeney / Courtesy Cynthia Adinig / Courtesy Charlie Charlie McCone, 34, San FranciscoAt the beginning of 2020, Charlie McCone had simply turned 30, began a brand new nonprofit job, and moved in together with his girlfriend in San Francisco. McCone was wholesome and energetic, however after getting COVID-19 in March 2020, he developed extreme cardiorespiratory signs, which restricted his bodily exercise. When McCone was reinfected in 2021, he grew to become house-bound and misplaced his job. McCone now suffers from excessive fatigue, cognitive points, migraines and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS).Chimére L. Sweeney, 42, BaltimoreFour years in the past, Chimére L. Sweeney was a wholesome 37-year-old working as a center faculty instructor in Baltimore. However then Sweeney received COVID-19 in March 2020. Within the months that adopted, Sweeney developed debilitating complications, fatigue, spinal ache, dizziness, imaginative and prescient loss, gastrointestinal points, and her psychological well being declined, amongst different issues. Sweeney was repeatedly dismissed and discriminated towards by docs, and now advocates for Black girls dwelling with lengthy COVID.Cynthia Adinig, 38, VirginiaCynthia Adinig is a mom and advertising and marketing specialist turned long-COVID advocate from Northern Virginia. After a gentle case of COVID-19 in March 2020, Adinig developed a fast coronary heart price; intermittent paralysis and weak spot in her legs, which put her in a wheelchair for a number of months; esophageal spasms and tears; extreme reactions to sure meals, and extra. Adinig additionally suffers from Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), which causes repeated allergic reactions or signs of anaphylaxis. After being repeatedly denied care, Adinig based the BIPOC Fairness Company.Dr. Sue Miller, 50, South CarolinaDr. Sue Miller, 50, served as medical director of the neonatology intensive care unit (NICU) and chair of pediatrics at a hospital in South Carolina earlier than leaving drugs due to her lengthy COVID. Whereas she prevented getting COVID-19 early on, she caught it for the primary and solely time at a convention in Might 2022. A couple of month later, Miller seen she new signs, together with exhaustion, cognitive impairment, gastrointestinal troubles and ache. Joel Fram, 57, New YorkBroadway conductor Joel Fram was a part of the early wave of New Yorkers who contracted COVID-19 in March 2020. As he was recovering throughout lockdown, he seen he grew to become exhausted when he tried exercising and sometimes felt so drained he fell asleep in the course of a duties, resembling consuming. He’s had COVID-19 4 occasions however doesn’t consider the reinfections worsened his lengthy COVID signs.Tony Marks, 56, North CarolinaTony Marks has been dwelling with lengthy COVID for over three years. The daddy of two and former software program govt was as soon as wholesome, energetic and often coached hockey. When Marks first contracted COVID-19 in February 2021, he needed to be hospitalized for every week with pneumonia in each lungs. Marks and his docs have been initially assured that he’d recuperate, however he by no means did. The worst of his lengthy COVID signs embrace debilitating fatigue, muscle ache and spasms, and neuropathy, or nerve harm that may result in ache, numbness and weak spot, per the Mayo Clinic. Mind Fog”Mind fog” is used to explain the gathering of neurological and cognitive signs related to COVID-19 and lengthy COVID. These embrace points with reminiscence, consideration and govt functioning. They’ll vary from delicate to extreme and impair an individual’s capacity to work or socialize. Tony Marks was the director of a software program firm earlier than his mind fog and different lengthy COVID signs, pressured him to resign. “Mid-sentence, throughout a dialog, I will simply cease as a result of I do not know what I simply instructed you or the place I used to be going. … (Generally) I will not recall the dialog in any respect, it is like full amnesia,” Marks tells TODAY.com. TODAY Illustration / Getty ImagesOnce, whereas driving, Marks ended up in a random location with no recollection of how he received there. “I received within the automobile and my mind simply entered into this mode. … I do not keep in mind going by means of cease lights or cease indicators. … (One other time) I wound up so far-off from the place I used to be alleged to be, I received out and checked my truck for dents and to guarantee that I hadn’t hit something,” says Marks. Dr. Sue Miller, a former NICU director, realized quickly after she had COVID-19 she may not multitask. “I don’t prefer to name it mind fog as a result of I feel that underestimates what I’ve,” Miller tells TODAY.com. “It’s a mind harm. It’s an infection-caused mind harm.” At work, Miller couldn’t full paperwork with the door open as a result of the hallway noise distracted her an excessive amount of. She forgot nurses’ names. “I used to be having word-finding points,” Miller says. “I converse a lot slower now.” With a lot disappointment, Miller realized she wanted to cease practising drugs. “I used to be anxious I might make a mistake,” Miller says. “I save lives. You could have to have the ability to suppose quick and never be drained and never make a mistake — as a result of seconds matter.”Research have proven COVID-19 can harm the mind, and individuals who recuperate from an an infection are inclined to have much less gray matter within the mind — essential for information-processing, per Cleveland Clinic — than those that didn’t get COVID-19.DizzinessDizziness and lightheadedness are a number of the commonest signs reported amongst lengthy COVID sufferers, per the CDC.TODAY Illustration / Getty ImagesIt was one in every of Chimére L. Sweeney’s early lengthy COVID signs in March 2020. “Once I was standing up, I might really feel extraordinarily dizzy,” Sweeney tells TODAY.com. It quickly grew to become tough to stroll, and showering was a monumental effort. “I used to be fainting in my lavatory and waking up and never understanding the place I used to be,” says Sweeney. Some lengthy COVID sufferers additionally report experiencing a sort of dizziness known as vertigo and impairments to the vestibular system, which controls steadiness.Imaginative and prescient disturbancesMiller, the previous NICU doctor, says her ongoing visible disturbances bother her. “It’s known as imprinting. What occurs is mild will keep in my eyes,” she says. “Mine lasts for a very very long time.” Sweeney, too, seen her imaginative and prescient began to vary after she received COVID. “By mid-April, I misplaced imaginative and prescient in my left eye,” she says. “It had been about six months of going to the hospital attempting to hunt care. I used to be despatched house with misplaced imaginative and prescient — they might see my imaginative and prescient was blurry, however no one was telling me why,” says Sweeney. After months of her imaginative and prescient loss being disregarded, docs found Sweeney had dense cataracts. “I had two of them, one in every eye due to the an infection, the irritation,” says Sweeney. It took one other few months for docs to agree she wanted surgical procedure. “Now I’ve these darkish black floaters in my eyes that impair my imaginative and prescient rather a lot,” she provides.Speedy coronary heart price, bother breathingIn the primary few months after growing lengthy COVID signs, Cynthia Adinig would discover her coronary heart racing typically “to the purpose the place I feared I used to be having a coronary heart assault,” she says. Her coronary heart signs have been typically disregarded by docs as nervousness, she says.Joel Fram says he experiences chest ache, however attempting to deal with his fast heartbeat has been irritating. “The heart specialist was like, ‘Properly your coronary heart price is kind of excessive. However your ECG is coming again regular. Your ultrasounds are coming again regular,’” Fram, a Broadway conductor, tells TODAY.com. “I used to be like, ‘OK, however one thing’s occurring.” Fram’s coronary heart price typically skyrockets after bodily exercise, so he is slowly build up his exercise ranges by means of bodily remedy.TODAY Illustration / Getty ImagesBefore the pandemic, Charlie McCone used to often bike 10 miles to work and again. “I received sick in March 2020, and I’ve by no means been the identical,” McCone tells TODAY.com. After his first an infection, he developed extreme shortness of breath, chest ache and a fast heartbeat. “I felt like I couldn’t take a breath. It was agonizing,” says McCone, including that he may stroll at most for 5 or 10 minutes. When he was reinfected a yr and a half later, COVID-19 took a toll on his lungs and coronary heart as soon as once more. “I ended up getting pneumonia, and I used to be hospitalized for an evening. … It was a complete nightmare,” says McCone. Though his respiratory signs have improved barely, McCone can solely have interaction in restricted bodily exercise, resembling strolling to a different room.FatigueBefore getting COVID-19, Tony Marks was a wholesome, energetic particular person who may “do no matter he needed to do,” he says. The acute fatigue has stripped that away from him. “Now, I go to sleep on a regular basis, for no cause. I’ll be sitting visiting with individuals, on the pool, and I go to sleep, and no one can wake me up,” says Marks. “Subsequent factor I do know I’m waking up within the hospital as a result of I had fallen into such a deep state of sleep (and) it was inconceivable to wake me,” Marks provides.RecommendedAfter being reinfected with COVID in 2021, Charlie McCone’s fatigue rendered him bed-bound. “I couldn’t even sit at a pc for half-hour,” says McCone. The as soon as athletic, outgoing younger man now not often leaves his house besides to hunt medical care.“I’ve been severely housebound. I misplaced my job, am not capable of work, and I depend on my accomplice as a full-time caretaker,” says McCone, including that he’s seen little enchancment in three years. “Now I’m solely actually capable of perform for one to 2 hours a day to do pc work or stuff round the home,” says McCone.Fram, the Broadway conductor, says the fatigue felt “actually debilitating. … It’s simply not one thing as a human being you actually count on. You’re having lunch with somebody and also you’re actually falling asleep on them. That’s actually laborious to battle.” Fram additionally experiences post-exertional malaise (PEM), the worsening of signs 12 to 48 hours after little bodily or psychological exercise, which may final for weeks, per the CDC. Fram is now attempting a sort of bodily remedy the place he does a number of small actions adopted by intentional respiration to attempt to fight his PEM. “You’re retraining your physique,” Fram says. “It’s to remind your physique to decrease your coronary heart price whenever you’re completed exercising … however not set off a fatigue assault with an excessive amount of exertion.” Tremors and spasmsShaking, buzzing and irregular actions may also be signs of lengthy COVID. Adinig has skilled inner vibrations and tremors that sometimes wake her up at night time. “I’ll be waking up choking on my air, having violent tremors in my sleep, after which as soon as I’m awake, the tremors don’t cease,” she says. Though she now takes a drugs that helps along with her tremors, they nonetheless come and go throughout symptom flare-ups. TODAY Illustration / Getty ImagesMarks says that lengthy COVID has left him with “1000’s of muscle spasms a minute,” principally in his legs and arms. “Most of that’s inner spasms however after they get actually unhealthy, I’ve an exterior shake or twitch,” says Marks. “One time, I used to be at work, and out of the blue I had one in my arm. I simply occurred to have the (pc) mouse in my hand and it goes flying towards the wall as a result of the jerk was so unhealthy,” he recollects. Three years later, the spasms and twitching haven’t improved. In a 2023 examine of 423 adults with lengthy COVID, which Iwasaki co-authored, about 37% reported having “inner tremors, or buzzing and vibrations.” This cohort additionally reported having a worse high quality of life, extra monetary difficulties, and “increased charges of new-onset mast cell issues and neurologic situations,” in contrast with lengthy COVID sufferers with out tremors.Continual ache Paint all through the physique, particularly within the joints and muscle tissues, is likely one of the major lengthy COVID signs that stops sufferers from returning to their outdated lives.Fram retains a bottle of ibuprofen on the prepared to assist ease his swollen, tender joints, which make his work as a conductor and pianist a lot tougher. TODAY Illustration / Getty Photos“(It) requires much more apply to play the piano as dexterously and precisely as I used to,” he says. “Once I conduct, I’ve all the time used my arms as a substitute of a baton, however the swelling and stiffness in my joints means I’ve to handle a good quantity of ache.” He has discomfort in his toes and legs, too: “It is vitally much like stressed leg syndrome, the place I get uncomfortable tingling in them, and I can’t maintain my toes nonetheless. My physique retains attempting to shake it out.” One in every of Sweeney’s early lengthy COVID signs felt like a searing migraine. “I felt this fiery ache transfer from the bottom of my cranium to the underside of my backbone. It felt like somebody had poured acid, (or) lit a match down my backbone. I knew that one thing was very incorrect,” she says.By April, the ache moved to the left facet of her face. “It felt like somebody had hit me with concrete,” she provides. It took months for Sweeney to get a prognosis of occipital and trigeminal neuralgia, a sort of surprising or taking pictures ache that follows the trail of a nerve attributable to irritation or harm, per the Nationwide Library of Medication. “I’ve by no means felt something just like the ache that I felt in my cranium (with lengthy COVID),” says Sweeney. “Each second of the day, my head is hurting.”Marks describes the ache within the muscle tissues of his legs as “feeling like I used to be being beat with a baseball bat. … It may be a boring ache or deep. I’ve woken up at night time feeling like I have been stabbed within the legs.”The neuropathy has additionally precipitated extreme weak spot in his legs. “It virtually appears like I am attempting to steadiness on jello, the muscle tissues in my legs are so weak they usually simply cannot help me,” says Marks. The previous hockey coach typically wakes up questioning whether or not it is going to be the final day he can stroll on his personal.Digestive problemsLong COVID can infiltrate the digestive tract, resulting in signs resembling diarrhea and belly ache. Lengthy-hauler Chimére L. Sweeney initially had diarrhea throughout her acute COVID-19 an infection, however she now offers with power and extreme constipation with no aid. TODAY Illustration / Getty Photos”I’m nonetheless so constipated that once I had a colonoscopy (not too long ago), they might not full the method as a result of my physique was not even adhering to the prep, after the laxatives and the fasting,” says Sweeney. “I suffered and nonetheless undergo at this time.”On Mom’s Day in 2020, Cynthia Adinig suffered a response whereas consuming one in every of her favourite meals, shrimp. “I felt unusual, my jaw felt tight, I couldn’t swallow, my coronary heart raced,” says Adinig. “I went to the ER and assessments confirmed nothing alarming to the medical workers.”Within the following months, Adinig suffered from related reactions to extra meals, in addition to gastric reflux and different gastrointestinal points, however was repeatedly dismissed by docs. By September, Adinig had misplaced 50 kilos and needed to be hospitalized a number of occasions for hunger and dehydration, the place docs found an esophageal tear. “I developed esophageal spasms and I’ve had points with swallowing and choking since, even on small quantities of meals and water,” she says.Though she began to recuperate in 2021, Adinig relies on antihistamines and may solely eat a handful of bland meals that gained’t trigger a response. “Even like a sprinkle of pepper will set off my reflux so badly that it is not value it,” says Adinig.Grief and gaslightingMany individuals with lengthy COVID mourn who they as soon as have been.In 2021, Fram, the Broadway conductor, “went down a horrible psychological spiral,” together with suicidal ideas, he says. “I used to be getting anxious and extremely depressed. I may not handle it by myself.”He remembers crying after visiting the Middle for Submit-COVID Care at Mount Sinai in New York Metropolis as a result of he “lastly discovered” well being care suppliers who believed him, and he may see a path ahead.Resulting from her lengthy COVID, Miller says she’s needed to confront “a lack of id, the lack of my well being, getting outdated.”“You begin to suppose you’re dropping your thoughts, like this isn’t actual,” she provides. “I’m not clinically depressed, however … I’m crying as a result of this has taken over my life. … Individuals will say it’s nervousness. No. I’m anxious however as a result of I don’t know what that is going to show into.” A former center faculty instructor, Sweeney, too, “(grieves) over how a lot I misplaced. … I’m now retired attributable to being medically disabled. It has been probably the most disappointing and hurtful issues in my life.”Extreme despair and suicidal ideation, which Sweeney manages with remedy and remedy, are frequent for lengthy COVID sufferers, typically because of the burden of their different signs, Jackson explains.And a part of this wrestle could require convincing well being care suppliers to consider you could have lengthy COVID in any respect.“I skilled nothing in need of humiliation, loads of sexism and even racial profiling and discrimination,” Sweeney recollects of being hospitalized attributable to her lengthy COVID signs in July 2020.Adinig testified in entrance of Congress in 2022 about being dismissed: She sought emergency medical take care of a dangerously excessive coronary heart price and low oxygen ranges, and emergency room workers drug examined her with out her consent and threatened to arrest her.When Miller instructed her main care physician about her lengthy COVID prognosis, all she supplied was a hug, “which isn’t something anybody needs to listen to from a doctor,” Miller recollects. Though the analysis on lengthy COVID has superior quickly, many sufferers really feel that these these scientific leaps have but to translate into tangible steps for therapy.”It is debilitating, devastating and demoralizing … and also you cope with that each single day,” says Marks.Caroline Kee is a well being reporter at TODAY based mostly in New York Metropolis. Meghan Holohan is a digital well being reporter for TODAY.com and covers patient-centered tales, girls’s well being, incapacity and uncommon illnesses.