Long COVID Defense Series III featured 6 Virtual Q&A Sessions
March 4, 2026, 4:30pm - 9:00pm EST
Watch Long COVID Defense Series III to honor patients and their allies who are tirelessly advocating for health justice in this historic struggle on YouTube and Facebook. On March 4, 2026, 4:30pm-9:00pm EST, 6 Q&A sessions featured an extraordinary international panel of speakers.
4:30 pm Dr. Michael Hoerger gave opening remarks
4:35 pm Delphine Crespo, President of Association of Long COVID Aragón
5:10 pm Dr. Ciara Steele, co-founder of Clean Air Advocacy Ireland (CAAI)
5:45 pm Elisa Perego, PhD, Long COVID Rise Up expert member who coined the term Long COVlD
6:20 pm Pamela Morrison, Long COVID Advocacy Ireland
6:55 pm Angela L., Creator of International Long COVID Awareness Day
7:35 pm Devin Russell, Founder of Long COVID Foundation
8:15 pm Paul Hennessy (Organizer of the 2024 Long COVID Demonstration in Washington DC) gave closing remarks
Emceed by Sarah Cahill, Dr. Angelique Corthals, and Dr. Robi Tamargo, with Dr. Michael Hoerger and Paul Hennessy delivering remarks, the educational forum series aims to battle erasure of Long COVID (LC) through raising awareness together. The MaskTogetherAmerica team, led by Julie Lam, an NIH RECOVER Long COVID patient representative, brings patients, advocates, and researchers together to encourage collaboration in tackling this unprecedented global health crisis that impacts people of all ages and all walks of life.
With patients in our network sharing their lived experiences, and with researchers sharing their findings, our pandemic documentary project is revealing that Long COVID is a multisystemic condition that affects all organ systems, potentially due to organ damage, vascular dysfunction, viral persistence, neurological dysfunction, mitochondrial dysfunction, metabolic dysfunction, immune dysfunction, autoimmunity, chronic inflammation, gut dysbiosis, mast cell dysfunction, and latent viral reactivation.
Long COVID patients struggle with all kinds of diagnosable and less diagnosable conditions induced by COVID: diabetes (Type 1 & 2), fatty liver, smell and taste disorder [3][4], chronic eye issues [5][6][7], blood clots, cardiovascular disease, lung conditions such as asthma, hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol), autoimmune disorders, reactivation of latent viruses and dormant cancer cells, neurodegenerative disease, hair loss (alopecia), voice loss, oral conditions, sleep disorders, allergies, and impaired cognition, just to name a few.
Long COVID patients can be living with organ damage to their heart [8][9][10], lungs, digestive system, brain, kidneys, liver, pancreas and reproductive system [11] [12].
COVID can also trigger hard-to-diagnose conditions such as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), in which patients often suffer from orthostatic intolerance, causing Tachycardia and dizziness when you transition from sitting or lying down to standing up.
Some Long COVID patients develop post-exertional malaise (PEM), which often leaves them bed-bound. PEM is also seen in other conditions, including ME/CFS, lupus and cancer. ME/CFS is a commonly self-reported cluster of symptoms that waxes and wanes. A 2025 NIH-funded study that excluded hospitalized patients finds that 4.5% of post-COVID-19 participants, mostly from the Omicron era, met ME/CFS diagnostic criteria.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 429 studies (2021–2024) found a 36% pooled global prevalence of long COVID among SARS-CoV-2-positive individuals, confirming that roughly one-third of people experience persistent symptoms. The review explores the prevalence of 8 subtypes and 41 symptoms, and the 11 most common risk factors. The subtypes include respiratory (20%), neurological (16%), cardiovascular (10%), musculoskeletal (9%), gastrointestinal (5%), psychological (18%), dermatological (12%), and general fatigue (20%). The findings show that significant burden remains high, with studies indicating that prevalence actually appears higher (47%) 1–2 years post-infection compared to under 1 year (35%).
Each infection of SARS-CoV-2 can trigger onset or relapse of these conditions that can shorten a person’s life. Despite how data is being suppressed, Long COVID is causing deaths. However, the government is not rapidly testing existing medications to target different Long COVID etiologies. We have yet to see any research on distinctive biomarkers being developed for different etiologies. There’s no unified inclusive research index, nor diagnostic criteria for clinicians. Research studies generally exclude patients with comorbidities, missing crucial information on how COVID exacerbates all kinds of medical conditions. RECOVER has been using an 11-point scoring system on 12 symptoms to identify patients. The research index over-weighed PEM and loss of taste and smell, excluding those that don’t meet the criteria, most likely patients from the Omicron era. Many Long COVID conditions that involve organ or immunological dysfunctions don’t show many symptoms but can only be detected by blood profile.
Long COVID patients, unable to be diagnosed with Long COVID, often struggle with stigma, or being accused of psychosomatizing. Their losses in function and quality of life are dismissed as “normal aging” or stress-induced. Primary physicians are mostly untrained to diagnose Long COVID. Because of heterogenic manifestations that affect multiple organ systems, patients are often sent to see multiple specialists who might also be uneducated about Long COVID. RECOVER studies on long-term symptom trajectories indicate that for a significant subset of patients, Long COVID symptoms can progress overtime, and symptoms worsen over time in some patients. Long COVID specialists at a Long COVID clinic are trained to diagnose patients with Long COVID, but 80% of these clinics have shuttered due to lack of funding, providers and approved treatments.
Long COVID Defense Series was launched in November 2025 to fight erasure of Long COVID. MaskTogetherAmerica is dedicated to supporting patients especially those who cannot recover from an infection or multiple infection of COVID-19. We hope our educational campaign will arm patients with knowledge to address their health decline. We hope meeting other patients will help renew your stamina to seek diagnosis and targeted treatments, instead of self-deprecation. “It’s not because of your age. It’s Long COVID.”
We hope our forum will encourage research that targets multiple etiologies and lead to creation of targeted biomarkers for each pathway. We need funding for research and Long COVID clinics. We hope that our effort will increase grassroots activism!
Hundreds of millions of people suffer from Long COVID worldwide. Long COVID is a top-ranking chronic illness among children. Indoor air quality needs to follow ASHRAE standards 241, the minimum requirements in reducing exposure to infectious aerosols in buildings by combining ventilation, filtration, and air cleaning. In addition, immunization, N95 respirators, and sick leave are essential preventive strategies to protect communities. We hope our forum will fuel the movement that empower people to support public health by advocating for preventive measures together. When we work together, we can make changes happen.
Access Info:
- Format: 6 Q&A sessions
- Presentations will be in spoken English
- Chat will be open
- Camera off for guests for security reasons
- Recording will be edited and available on the website through Youtube and Facebook
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