3/22/25: Long COVID landscape in India; claiming Long COVID identity

Long COVID is an international public health crisis, and while its effects are felt around the world, access to research and understanding about the virus is not equal.

And coming to accept one's disabled identity when living with Long COVID can bring up an array of emotions.

In this episode of Still Here: Freelance journalist Rishabh Jain talks with co-hosts Betsy Ladyzhets and Miles Griffis about his latest reporting on how Long COVID is an economic catastrophe for marginalized workers in India. And The Sick Times' engagement editor Heather Hogan shares how a dysautonomic battle with a racist man helped her claim her Long COVID identity.

The transcript for this podcast is⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ available on The Sick Times’ website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. You can jump to specific sections of the podcast and transcript below:

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:02:30) COVID-19 trends

(00:05:22) Landscape of Long COVID in India

(00:14:28) Claiming Long COVID identity

(00:24:18) Research: Recapping Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections

(00:28:06) Outro

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Mentioned in this episode (in order of appearance):

• Submit a voice memo reflecting on over 5 years of COVID-19 and Long COVID
• The Sick Times: National COVID-19 trends, March 18
• CDC wastewater dashboard
• Biobot wastewater risk reports
• WastewaterSCAN dashboard
• The Sick Times: “There is no money to survive”: Long COVID pushes India’s marginalized workers deeper into poverty
• The Sick Times: Live blog: International demonstrations ignite for Long COVID Awareness Day
• The Sick Times: The sick soft butch who did: How confronting a racist in my neighborhood helped me claim my Long COVID identity
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