Post-COVID-19 clinic seeing more patients
The sustained and growing volume of COVID-19 infections has also resulted in more outpatients receiving care at UW Medicine's post-COVID clinic. On average, its providers are treating 15 new patients a week.
Dr. Aaron Bunnell, medical director of rehabilitation consults at Harborview Medical Center, explains that the clinic is treating people of all ages and even those whose COVID-19 infections did not require hospitalization. The common long-term issues, he said, include fatigue, shortness of breath, and brain fog.
"My hope is that most people recover fully, but we may be dealing with a group of patients who have more long-term effects. Not just three months, but a year or five years or indefinite effects. And we really want to be here to serve those patients and help rebuild life in whatever way that we can for those patients," he says.