Covid can profoundly affect the brain and the nervous system (which provides sensory information to the brain), altering cognition, perception, mood, our enjoyment of food and drink, and other elements of mental and physical well-being. Brain fog, which impairs “executive function” and can make even simple tasks agonizingly difficult, is just one of the most common and disabling symptoms of Long Covid.

Damage to the brain and the nervous system is often permanent, resulting in cell death, stroke, inflammation associated with life-long symptoms, and even neurodegenerative processes like those seen with dementia, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease.