A GRIM STATISTIC FROM COVID-19

This week, the COVID-19 pandemic churned out another grim statistic: One out of every 500 Americans has died from the illness. One Florida family lost six of its members in the last three weeks.

In addition to the 645,000 Americans who have lost their lives to COVID-19, as many as 12 million others took months to recover, or are still struggling. These “long haulers” suffer from what’s called Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection, better known as long COVID.

For 7-year-old Waylon Wehrle, complications from COVID-19 stole his memory along with his ability to walk and talk. After months in recovery, he has slowly improved but will have diabetes the rest of his life. About 2% to 3% of kids with COVID struggle with puzzling and sometimes crippling symptoms. Young athletes who have had COVID-19 risk myocarditis – an inflammation of the heart muscle that can lead to sudden death.

Get vaccinated. Save lives.