Without clear clinical guidelines in México, people with Long COVID face gaslighting and erasure - The Sick Times
thesicktimes.org
The only explanation Jacqueline Ventura can think of is Long COVID, also called COVID persistente in México. But though Ventura accrued a hodgepodge of symptoms for two years after getting reinfected with SARS-CoV-2, doctors never diagnosed her with the disease. Every symptom had an alternate explanation. Like many around the world with Long COVID, the weightlifter from the State of Mexico has had to search for answers herself. She learned that many of the symptoms she had since her reinfection lined up with the disease. Yet no one would name it.

Key Points

  • Long COVID may affect millions of Mexicans, but a lack of information prohibits adequate medical care and innovative research.
  • Some Mexican doctors are calling on the government to establish a national clinical guideline, which could direct local clinics and medical experts on how best to diagnose and treat the disease.
  • Similar to other countries, the government places higher-priority on surveilling and addressing other easier-to-diagnose diseases, like dengue.
  • Despite attempts to approve a clinical guideline, the government agency in charge of approvals has yet to review the proposal.