Miles W. Griffis

@mileswgriffis.bsky.social

Co-founder/editor @TheSickTimes.org Columnist @HighCountryNews.org [email protected] #LongCOVID

@mileswgriffis.bsky.social Oct 12, 2026, 10:11 PM

"It might be more accurate to view Long COVID not as a single disease episode but as a long term condition, punctuated by periods of remission and relapse."

A BMJ opinion by Charlie Dennis and
@nisreenalwan.bsky.social on defining Long COVID "recovery".

www.bmj.com/content/393/...

A screen shot of a BMJ print article, reading, "Opinion: Charlie Dennis and NIsreen A. Alwan.

If you have long covid, how can you tell if you have fully recovered? Six years of evidence and collective lived experience show us that this is not an easy question to answer. Yet if we do not define recovery, we cannot properly count the number of people living with long covid, and its present and future impact on the population’s wellbeing, economic productivity, and health systems.

Long covid remains a substantial global health problem. A recent report estimated that this condition will cost countries in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) $11bn (£8.3bn; €9.6bn) a year in healthcare costs over the next decade. The projected economic costs are $135bn a year.1

Since the start of the pandemic, clinicians, researchers, and health organisations have devoted substantial effort to defining and measuring long covid. In 2020, one of us (NAA) proposed that long covid be defined largely by what it is not: recovery from acute covid-19.2 This approach was reflected later in the World Health Organization’s definition, which describes long covid (post-covid-19 condition) as a condition following confirmed or probable SARS-CoV2 infection with symptoms that persist for at least two months, and cannot be explained by alternative diagnoses.3

Seven years into this pandemic, however, a critical question remains largely underexplored: what does it mean to be recovered from long covid?

Initially, recovery seems self-evident: a person’s eventual return to their pre-infection health status, albeit months or years later than expected. Yet the lived experiences of people with long covid challenge this assumption. Long covid is characterised by fluctuations, relapses, new symptoms developing, and periods of apparent improvement, all of which make it far harder to distinguish genuine recovery from temporary remission.456

A striking feature of the literature on lo…

fails to differentiate between relatively brief symptom remittance and true long term recovery. This lack of precision matters. If we can’t separate people experiencing a temporary remission from those who’ve fully recovered, then public health estimates of disease burden will become unstable and difficult to interpret. It also obscures the lived reality of patients whose health might cycle unpredictably between improvement, the hope of recovery, and the return of symptoms.

Moreover, as we move into an age of research being done in partnership with patients rather than just on them, it is important to examine patients’ perspectives on recovery. Through this lens we can better understand the way changes in a person’s experience of symptoms can affect their sense of self. When people who consider themselves recovered from long covid were asked how long they were symptom-free before reaching that conclusion, their answers ranged from a few weeks to over six months.4 Such variation likely reflects the cumulative experience of relapse and people’s answers may be dependent on the overall duration of their illness: people who had long covid for longer may learn not to trust short periods of improvement and therefore recalibrate what “recovered” means to them.

One response might be to formalise recovery by using a standardised minimum duration of symptom absence. Yet even this approach runs into difficulty when reinfection is considered. Evidence from a patient led survey suggests that a majority of people who thought they had recovered from long covid experienced a return of symptoms after subsequent SARS-CoV-2 infections.10 In such cases, it might be more accurate to view long covid not as a single disease episode but as a long term condition, punctuated by periods of remission and relapse.

This raises important questions. Should we adopt the language of remission rather than recovery, as is common in other chronic conditions? This could improve conceptual clarity, but…

@disabilitylab.bsky.social Oct 12, 2026, 6:46 PMReposted by @mileswgriffis.bsky.social

Colonialism is disabling, and Indigenous people are dealing with the impacts of that oppression. Johnnie Jae, an Otoe-Missouria and Choctaw journalist, media critic, and artist, writes about Indigenous Peoples' Day for a new piece in Disability Culture Currents. Read more: tinyurl.com/DCCurrents.

Text reading: “’Indigenous Peoples’ Day can be more than recognition of Native presence. It can be a chance to consider how we care for one another and what we're building for those who come next. Disabled Native people have always been part of our communities. Our knowledge, leadership, labor, relationships, and experiences belong in the future of Indigenous Nations.’ Johnnie Jae, they/them. Journalist, media critic, and multidisciplinary artist. ‘Indigenous People’s Day Calls Us to Be Better Relatives.’ Link in bio: tinyurl.com/DCCurrents.”

The graphic is light green with dark teal text and a subtle lightning bolt pattern.

@mileswgriffis.bsky.social Oct 12, 2026, 6:06 PM

"I founded the Hearts and Minds Learning Community (HMLC)...It’s a safer school designed to care for each other’s health and well-being and can act as a lifeline for families navigating chronic health challenges, including Long COVID, and striving to avoid illness."

thesicktimes.org/2026/10/09/h...

@mileswgriffis.bsky.social Oct 12, 2026, 6:06 PM

"For families maneuvering the often isolating reality of living a COVID-cautious life, especially those living with a chronic illness like Long COVID, finding an educational environment that doesn’t jeopardize a child’s or family’s health can feel impossible."

thesicktimes.org/2026/10/09/h...

@mileswgriffis.bsky.social Oct 11, 2026, 10:00 PM

Need to read an essay about this 👀

@calmatters.org Oct 11, 2026, 2:00 AMReposted by @mileswgriffis.bsky.social

Gavin Newsom backs measure to kill the billionaire tax and ban future wealth taxes Gov. Gavin Newsom isn't just fighting the billionaire tax. He's backing Prop. 42, which would ban future wealth taxes in California, too.

@ufw.bsky.social Oct 11, 2026, 1:47 AMReposted by @mileswgriffis.bsky.social

Warrantless stops and violent roving patrols by masked federal agents across California, especially the Central Valley, have been terrorizing farm workers for the past 5 days. The chaos is escalating.

full statement: www.dailykos.com/stories/2026...

United Farm Workers union condemns brutal
ICE surge impacting farm workers in Central Valley; highlights Rep. Valadao's comments as 'insulting' to his constituents

@durhamhealthnc.bsky.social Oct 8, 2026, 6:33 PMReposted by @mileswgriffis.bsky.social

It's that time of year: lots of people will be sick, and many won't know what sickness it is. It's a good idea to get tested, but even if you don't know what it is, *please* stay home as much as possible, get plenty of rest to help yourself recover, and wear masks if you have to go out while sick!

@juliametraux.bsky.social Oct 8, 2026, 10:01 PMReposted by @mileswgriffis.bsky.social

Looking for an employment lawyer who has supported people with Long Covid for an article I'm working on who would have 15 minutes to speak Monday-Wednesday next week. Please reach out at [email protected]

@thesicktimes.org Oct 8, 2026, 4:15 PMReposted by @mileswgriffis.bsky.social

This week's #LongCOVID research updates from @mileswgriffis.bsky.social: thesicktimes.org/2026/10/06/r...

Helicobacter pylori infection seen medical imaging. The bacteria appears dark brown in clumps in an endoscopic gastric biopsy image. The text reads, “The Sick Times. Long COVID research updates. As many as 2.3 million new cases of cancer were triggered by infections worldwide in 2024. One in 10 adults stated that COVID-19 worsened a pre-existing health condition long term. A recent commentary argues that Long COVID is an occupational disease for teachers.”

🤒 As many as 2.3 million new cases of cancer were triggered by infections worldwide in 2024, according to new research in The Lancet Oncology. French researchers analyzed a large database of cancer incidence from 2024, looking at specific diagnoses that were attributable to infections. They assessed twelve infections including HIV and found that the bacteria H. pylori, human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) had the largest number of cases attributable to them. The researchers concluded that some of these infections, like HPV and HBV, are preventable with vaccines, and that more research for EBV vaccines is needed. EBV has also been linked to multiple sclerosis and Lupus. The study did not assess SARS-CoV-2.

🦠 One in 10 adults stated that COVID-19 worsened a pre-existing health condition long term, according to a new preprint. Researchers conducted a study between 2023 and 2025 that included 2,227 adults from four sites around the U.S. who took three surveys over the course of a year after having COVID-19. “Respondents in our study shared struggles with stress and social isolation as they live with chronic conditions and the risk of reinfection or newly worsening condition,” the authors wrote.

👩🏽‍🏫 A recent commentary in NEW SOLUTIONS argues that Long COVID is an occupational disease for teachers. The article states this profession has a high risk of Long COVID and COVID-19 and recommends policies including air cleaning and ventilation to benefit both teachers and students, as well as disability supports compliant with the American with Disabilities Act. “Making these proposed investments in future research and practice to promote teachers’ occupational health could help support and replenish the teacher workforce,” the authors concluded.

@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social Oct 8, 2026, 3:54 AMReposted by @mileswgriffis.bsky.social

Vietnam: COVID-19 killed over 32,000 people and left 4,400 children orphaned. Children who lost their parents are rebuilding their lives at HOPE School, which provides care, education and a safe home as they cope with grief, overcome trauma and learn to move forward after loss.

@sesmith.lol Oct 7, 2026, 2:43 PMReposted by @mileswgriffis.bsky.social

Especially in the long covid era, having all your friends slowly fade away because you are having a terrible time and not feeling your best self is systemic. It's both isolating and radicalizing, and sending solidarity to people in this position! Along with suggestions from my personal experience.

@mileswgriffis.bsky.social Oct 7, 2026, 4:14 AM

If you say a nation you’ve committed war crimes against should bomb the second largest city in the US, you should be immediately impeached.

@theguardian.com Oct 6, 2026, 9:02 PMReposted by @mileswgriffis.bsky.social

Israeli settlers beat press photographer as soldiers watch in West Bank

theguardian.comIsraeli settlers beat press photographer as soldiers watch in West BankJaafar Ashtiyeh was covering violence against olive farmers when settlers set upon him with the butts of their guns Armed Israeli settlers beat a photographer in the presence of Israeli soldiers, hospitalising him, as he covered worsening settler violence against olive farmers in the occupied West Bank. Jaafar Ashtiyeh, a 58-year-old veteran photographer for Agence France-Presse in Palestine, was assaulted by a group of settlers, who beat him with the butts of their guns, despite him being marked as press. He was assaulted in view of about a dozen armed Israeli soldiers. Continue reading...

@mileswgriffis.bsky.social Oct 6, 2026, 6:25 PM

“The best way to understand the biology of the disease is … to disrupt the pathways we think are at play to see what happens."

@davetuller1.bsky.social reported on the recent ISLC-PAIS conference in Amsterdam, highlighting key points from the multi-day event.

thesicktimes.org/2026/10/06/b...

@betsyladyzhets.bsky.social Oct 6, 2026, 4:53 PMReposted by @mileswgriffis.bsky.social

Today @thesicktimes.org: @davetuller1.bsky.social recaps the recent ISLC-PAIS conference in Amsterdam, featuring clinical trial updates, talks on PEM, and more. thesicktimes.org/2026/10/06/b...

@mileswgriffis.bsky.social Oct 6, 2026, 4:12 PM

Her novel, CREATURES OF HABIT, comes out next March from Harper Collins/William Morrow.

www.harpercollins.com/products/cre...

@mileswgriffis.bsky.social Oct 6, 2026, 4:12 PM

📚 Author Jennifer Yeh shares her experience with Long COVID, & how having the diseases will keep her from going on a book tour when her debut novel comes out.

She writes about how running & exertion worsened her condition & made her mostly homebound.

jenniferyeh.substack.com/p/long-covid...

@abrokenbattery.bsky.social Oct 6, 2026, 7:07 AMReposted by @mileswgriffis.bsky.social

“The harm you have done is incalculable. It’s not me who has been spreading great harm around the world. It’s you, mate.”

George Monbiot on being accused by Prof Michael Sharpe of “spreading” #LongCovid by writing about it and why he started writing about the #MECFS scandal.

@exceedhergrasp1.bsky.social Oct 5, 2026, 11:39 PMReposted by @mileswgriffis.bsky.social

Interesting paper on lay scientists / citizen scientists by @chloedecanson.bsky.social; 1uotes @tomkindlon.bsky.social, @chromatowski.bsky.social, @anilvanderzee.bsky.social's interviews, @betsyladyzhets.bsky.social, @mileswgriffis.bsky.social, & more. 🧪

Older posts