Long-Term Covid, Congress and Brain Fog
A Modest Proposal for Starting the Fight Against Long-Covid
Welcome to the Civic Way journal, our quick take on the relevance of breaking news to America’s future governance. The author, Bob Melville, is the founder of Civic Way, a nonprofit dedicated to good government, and a management consultant with over 45 years of experience improving public agencies.
“There's none so blind as they that won't see.” ― Jonathan Swift
With the success of vaccines and boosters, and the pervasive debates about Covid-19 measures, America’s long-haulers and Long-Covid have received scant attention.
How much of a threat does Long-Covid pose? How will it affect our recovery? We really don’t know.
We know some of its symptoms—headaches, fatigue, shortness of breath, malaise and brain fog, for example. But what about more serious long-term symptoms, like permanent memory deficiencies, neurological problems, physical weaknesses, gastrointestinal stress, circulatory problems, and heart, lung and kidney damage? What about post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic fatigue?
How many people might contract Long-Covid? The CDC believes that ten percent of Americans could develop Long-Covid symptoms. Some experts believe that 10 to 30 percent of Covid-19 survivors may be at risk. Great Britain’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) has estimated that 2.7% of the British population may already have Long-Covid.
Given the extensive reach of Covid-19, Long-Covid could be a big deal. If only five percent of Covid-19 victims catch Long-Covid, the US could face a public health catastrophe. And, a severe economic crisis could follow. The Brookings Institute, for example, estimates that Long-Covid has forced the sidelining of 1.6 million workers. Could Long-Covid pose even greater economic risks?
The pandemic has been with us for over two years, yet many questions linger about Long-Covid. What is it? What conditions could it spawn? How many have it? Are some groups more vulnerable than others? To what extent do vaccines prevent it, or treatments cure it? Will disability insurance cover it?
Clearly, we need to learn more about Long-Covid. But, how, especially in the midst of a pandemic?
Our top institutions and experts, like the CDC and National Institutes of Health, are wrestling with the issue. What is the most efficient way to assess Long-Covid? How should the study be designed? How large a study group? What about the control group? What funding will be required? Who will pay? Should we divert funds from the current crisis to a large research project on Long-Covid?
What if we start small? Instead of a large, interminable and costly study, let’s gather some preliminary data to help us design the larger study—and perhaps solve another mystery.
How about starting with the US Congress?
How many members of Congress suffer from Long-Covid? How many don’t, and why not? Of those who have it, how have their cognitive skills been impacted? What other symptoms are they experiencing and how have these symptoms affected their performance as members of the esteemed US Senate and US House?
Afterall, we know that at least one US Senator, Tim Kaine of Virginia, has Long-Covid. And, if brain fog is one of Long-Covid’s symptoms, there may be others. During the recent Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, purportedly a stage for thoughtfully assessing a nominee’s qualifications, the odd behavior of some Senators may suggest Long-Covid symptoms.
Let’s start with Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. A graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, he is evidently quite intelligent. He clerked for US Supreme Court Chief Justice Rehnquist. He argued before the US Supreme Court nine times. For the 2008 District of Columbia v. Heller case, he drafted the amicus brief for 31 state attorneys general urging the Court to invalidate a local handgun ban. The good senator is many things, but he is not slow-witted.
Regrettably, there have been troubling signs of intellectual decline, or brain fog.
During the recent Supreme Court confirmation hearing, Senator Cruz asked Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson a question that most of us would have lacked the boorishness to ask, “Do you think children are racist?” During a recent Fox TV appearance, Senator Cruz proclaimed that Supreme Court nominee Jackson roots for criminals because her “heart is with the murderers." As an intelligent man, the Senator knows these statements are both untrue and outlandish.
Is Senator Cruz suffering from brain fog?
How about Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri?
Like Senator Cruz, Senator Hawley has been intellectually blessed. He is a graduate of Stanford University and Yale Law School. He clerked for Chief Justice Roberts and served as Missouri’s Attorney General. However, in the last two years or so, he has shown signs of potential brain fog.
During the Supreme Court nominee confirmation hearings, Senator Hawley snarled, “Judge Jackson has a pattern of letting child porn offenders off the hook…” More recently, Senator Hawley, to draw attention to the Disney Corporation’s gay rights stance (and perhaps himself), introduced a flimsy three-page stunt bill that would, in the unlikely event it went anywhere, retroactively shorten the copyright period for Disney’s copyrights (a likely compensable “taking” under the Fifth Amendment).
On January 6th, Senator Hawley prominently egged on the insurrectionists who assaulted the US Capitol. As George Will recently wrote, Hawley was “the principal catalyst of the attempted nullification of the presidential election.”
Cruz and Hawley aren’t the only Senators exhibiting signs of brain fog and potential symptoms of Long-Covid. Again, we turn to George Will for his apt description of “senators with presidential ambitions and time on their hands:”
Such senators … use social media to express and encourage anger about this and that [and] … have confused striking poses — in the Capitol, on Twitter — with governing … passed sentiment-affirmations masquerading as laws … [and] been comfortable running the government on continuing resolutions. – George Will
Members of the US House do not appear immune from brain fog symptoms that could indicate the presence of Long-Covid in the lower chamber.
Lisa McClain, a first-term Representative from Michigan, credited Donald Trump with catching Osama bin Laden. Representative Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina suggested that his colleagues hold orgies. Democrat Representative Cori Bush of Missouri tweeted, “This land is stolen land..." Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota confused the US and Israel with terrorist groups.
Help may be on the way. The White House is promoting Long-Covid research. Legislation has been introduced in the House and Senate to increase funding for Long-Covid research. Still, throwing money at the problem won’t necessarily solve it.
A targeted study of Congress could pay big dividends. Its findings might help us design a larger, more successful Long-Covid study. Ultimately, it could yield findings that not only help other Long-Covid victims, but also those who suffer similar post-viral symptoms.
It might even help us understand why some members of Congress behave the way they do.