the bulk of those people have been through the st. paul’s location, which opened first. those aged 40 to 60 represent the largest chunk of patients seen by st. paul’s, at 40 per cent. another 37 per cent are older than 60, and 22 per cent are younger than 40, said the lead physician, dr. jesse greiner.
“what we’re seeing here in our clinic is that a lot of patients have symptoms that last a lot longer than the typical cold or flu, like the typical two, three weeks. and there’s a whole host of reasons why that can be,” he said.
some are struggling with mental health — including anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder — which could be related to their icu stays, worries about infecting loved ones, isolation or financial uncertainty. others may suffer from lung problems, heart issues or post-exertional malaise.
people with malaise, for example, have a variety of serious symptoms. “there’s cough and chest pain, shortness of breath, arthritis, headaches are terrible, brain fog,” greiner said. “they are triggered by physical, cognitive and emotional stressors in their lives.”
the number of new patients in his clinic has steadily increased with the second and third waves, which have come with more aggressive covid variants. greiner worries the climbing case counts will mean more demand in months to come.