What COVID-19 Does to the Body (10th Edition, February 2026)

Your Regular COVID-19 Research Update (75+ Studies!)

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It’s been over three years since I started this series of research updates on COVID-19’s impacts, primarily designed as a resource for physicians. Naively, I had hoped this would help dispel the common myth that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is merely a respiratory virus, that simply goes in one lung and out the other, without any lingering effects. Unfortunately, the population-wide disease burden of COVID-19 has continued to grow, and the American federal government is doing everything in their power to sweep this under the rug. COVID-19 is still a disease worth preventing, and the bottom of this article again includes a section on the topic.

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Even in the face of federal censorship of science, the work continues. Nearing a thousand studies across 10 editions, organized by topic and organ, What COVID-19 Does to the Body has hopefully proven itself to be an essential resource in dispelling the myths of the anti-vaccine war on science. I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank everyone for their support over the years, and if you’ve appreciated this work, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription (25% off!) or leaving a few bucks in the tip jar:

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This time around, the biggest insights can be found in COVID’s impacts on children, the immune system, and the elephant in the room that is Post-Acute COVID Syndrome, better known as Long COVID.

You can find the previous edition of What COVID-19 Does to the Body here:

What COVID-19 Does to the Body (9th Edition, September 2025)

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• Why covid-19 is “a vascular disease masquerading as a respiratory one” (BMJ)

Children & COVID-19

• Long COVID is here to stay—even in children (The Lancet Infectious Diseases)

• “Children and adolescents face a significantly higher risk of various PASC outcomes after reinfection with SARS-CoV-2.” (The Lancet Infectious Diseases)

• “…double the prevalence of functional limitations in the learning, cognition, relationships, accepting change, and psychosocial domains among children who had experienced long COVID” (CDC)

• Long term cardiovascular effects on COVID-19 infection in children (International Journal of Cardiology)

• Fatigue in children and young people up to 24 months after infection with SARS-CoV-2 (Nature Scientific Reports)

• Neurological and neurodevelopmental effects of Covid and MIS-C on children (Nature Pediatric Research)

• “Children and young people have higher risks of rare vascular and inflammatory diseases up to 12 months after a first COVID-19 diagnosis” (The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health)

• Increasing Numbers of Children Aged 5-19 Years with Memory Problems in Sweden and Norway (Archives of Clinical and Biomedical Research)

• Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children is a SARS-CoV-2 triggered Kawasaki disease (Nature Pediatric Research)

• “Pediatric long COVID is marked by prolonged, multisystem symptoms.” (Frontiers in Pediatrics)

Cognitive & Neurological Impairment (Brain)

• Synergy of SARS-CoV-2 and HIV-1 Infections in the Human Brain (Pathogens)

• COVID-19 infection associated with increased risk of new-onset vascular dementia in adults ≥50 years (npj Dementia)

• Distinct brain alterations and neurodegenerative processes in cognitive impairment associated with post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (Nature Communications)

• “SARS-CoV-2-human protein interactions may lead to the development of delirium, psychosis, seizures, encephalitis, stroke, sensory impairments, peripheral nerve diseases, and autoimmune disorders.” (Frontiers in Human Neuroscience)

• The compounding roles of gut-immune-brain axis and COVID19 in manifestation of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (Discover Immunity)

• Integrated immune, hormonal, and transcriptomic profiling reveals sex-specific dysregulation in long COVID patients with ME/CFS (Cell Reports Medicine)

• Exploring Alice in Wonderland syndrome in adults with persistent headache after COVID-19 (BMC Neurology)

• Systemic increase of AMPA receptors associated with cognitive impairment of long COVID (Brain Communications)

• Choroid plexus alterations in long COVID and their associations with Alzheimer’s disease risks (Alzheimer’s & Dementia)

Eyes, Ears & Nose

• “COVID-19 has been associated with high prevalences of retinal diseases in humans.” (PNAS)

• Kinematic handwriting impairments in olfactory dysfunction-related post-acute covid syndrome: short and long-term neurophysiological considerations (Brain and Cognition)

• “…improvements in olfactory performance occur only after 20 months following COVID-19” (Brain, Behavior, & Immunity - Health)

Heart, Lungs, and Cardiovascular Health

• SARS-CoV-2 reshapes m6A methylation in long noncoding RNAs of human lung cells (NAR Molecular Medicine)

• “The risk of developing cardiac arrhythmias is increased after COVID-19 infection in the long term.” (Journal of Arrhythmia)

• Paternal SARS-CoV-2 infection impacts sperm small noncoding RNAs and increases anxiety in offspring in a sex-dependent manner (Nature Communications)

• Persistent clotting protein pathology in Long COVID/Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) is accompanied by increased levels of antiplasmin (Cardivascular Diabetology)

• Long COVID: lung pathophysiology and its relationship with cognitive dysfunction (Nature Scientific Reports)

Immune System & Cancer

• T-cell exhaustion in COVID-19: what do we know? (Frontiers in Immunology)

• COVID-19 is “Airborne AIDS”: provocative oversimplification, emerging science, or something in between? (AJPM Focus)

• Low CD3+ and CD4+ T cell levels predict need for ventilatory support and in-hospital mortality in patients with COVID-19 (Frontiers in Medicine)

• SARS-CoV-2 peptide fragments selectively dysregulate specific immune cell populations via Gaussian curvature targeting (PNAS)

• “SARS-CoV-2 infection increases the risk of autoimmune diseases, particularly those affecting vascular and connective tissue.” (Clinical Reviews in Allergy and Immunology)

• “SARS-CoV-2 causes lasting immune dysregulation for over 20 months.” (International Journal of Infectious Diseases)

• Post-COVID impairment of memory T cell responses to community-acquired pathogens can be rectified by activating cellular metabolism (bioRxiv)

• Dysregulated IFN-γ, IL-6 and TNF-α after COVID-19 is suggestive of lowered innate immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 and MTB (Tuberculosis)

• T cell-driven sustained inflammation and immune dysregulation mimicking immunosenescence for up to three years post-COVID-19 (Immunity & Inflammation)

• “SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with elevated risks of HPV-related carcinoma in situ and cancer” (Discover Oncology)

• Baseline Dysregulation in B, T, and NK Cells in COVID-19 Predicts Increased Late Mortality but Not Long-COVID Symptoms (Viruses)

• Oncogenic potential of SARS-CoV-2—targeting hallmarks of cancer pathways (BMC Cell Communication and Signaling)

• Long COVID involves activation of proinflammatory and immune exhaustion pathways (Nature Immunology)

Livers, Kidney, and the Gut

• COVID-19-induced gastrointestinal autonomic dysfunction: A systematic review (World Journal of Clinical Cases)

• COVID-19 and chronic liver disease (Nature Scientific Reports)

• Levels of circulating kidney injury markers and IL-10 identify non-critically ill patients with COVID-19 at risk of death (JCI Insight)

• Clinical features and inflammatory signatures of patients with persistent gastrointestinal long COVID two years after severe SARS-CoV-2 infection (Nature Scientific Reports)

Long COVID & Disability

• “Long COVID is a common and disabling condition” (International Journal of Infectious Diseases)

• “In the largest long covid cohort from a single specialist post-COVID service to date, only one-third of individuals under follow-up achieved satisfactory recovery” (BMJ Infectious Diseases)

• “Individuals with long COVID may experience a deterioration in their quality of life due to mental health issues, even if they have recovered from the initial COVID-19 infection for over 24 months.” (Discover Mental Health)

• Experiences and coping strategies among patients with mild COVID-19 who develop post COVID conditions (Nature Scientific Reports)

• Long COVID in the context of driving styles: An empirical study employing connected vehicle trajectory data (Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering)

• “Long-COVID should be recognized/compensated as an occupational disease.” (BMJ Occupational & Environmental Medicine)

• “average annual burden of $1 trillion globally and $9000 per patient in the USA” (NPJ Primary Care Respiratory Medicine)

• Fatigue in Post-COVID-Condition is accompanied by hypoperfusion of right-occipital areas (PLOS One)

• Important Long-COVID Lessons From AIDS Researchers (Medscape)

• “People with long COVID earned an average of 25% less than before they had the condition” (National Institute for Health and Care Research)

• Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the incidence and prevalence of [POTS] (European Heart Journal - Quality of Care & Clinical Outcomes)

• Persistent neuromuscular disorders associated with changes in tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius lateralis muscle architecture in long-covid: an observational longitudinal study (Nature Scientific Reports)

• Exploring the Role of Race/Ethnicity, Metropolitan Status, and Health Insurance in Long COVID Among U.S. Adults (Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities)

Overall Mortality

• “…from October 2022 to September 2023, there were an estimated … 101 300 deaths. From October 2023 to September 2024, there were an estimated … 100 800 deaths.” (JAMA Internal Medicine)

• “COVID-19 survivors had a 69% higher mortality risk over 3.5 years.” (International Journal of Infectious Diseases)

• “COVID-19 is associated with markedly higher short-term mortality than influenza” (International Journal of Infectious Diseases)

Pregnancy

• “Maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy was associated with increased risk of adverse neurodevelopmental diagnoses by age 3 years” (Obstetrics & Gynecology)

• Presence of SARS-CoV-2 in fetal organs via intraamniotic infection (Nature Communications)

Reinfections of COVID-19

• Distinct characteristics of T cell receptor repertoire associated with the SARS-CoV-2 reinfection (Frontiers in Immunology)

Reproductive Health

• “SARS-CoV-2 infection primarily affects male fertility, leading to reductions in sperm quality, count, and motility.”

• “SARS-CoV-2 can affect the whole testicular function” (Andrology)

Viral Persistence

• “…SARS-CoV-2 sequences can be reverse-transcribed and integrated into the DNA of infected human cells” (PNAS)

• “…persistent viral replication in the presence of weakened immune responses is thought to be a major driver of the emergence of highly divergent immune escape variants that can cause waves of infection in the broader population.” (Communications Biology)

• Extensive evolution and T cell escape by SARS-CoV-2 in a 2.5-year persistent infection of an immunocompromised host (iScience)

COVID-19 Prevention & Transmission

• Intranasal administration of broad-spectrum macrocyclic peptide inhibitor protects against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants (Nature Communications)

• WHO urged to make respirator masks the standard for workers in “all healthcare settings” (BMJ)

• “…PPE is effective in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection among HCWs.” (Journal of Korean Medicine)

• “COVID-19 vaccination is associated with a lower risk of severe disease and preterm birth regardless of variant time period.” (JAMA)

• “…vaccinated individuals had a 74% lower risk of death from severe COVID-19 and no increased risk of all-cause mortality” (JAMA Network Open)

• “Among the vaccinated population, additional doses were associated with added protection against long COVID” (Nature Communications)

• COVID-19 vaccination carries no association with childbirth rates in Sweden (Nature Communications Medicine)

• Indoor air: The science of indoor air and pathways to improve indoor air quality in Australia (Australian Academy of Science)

• A novel aerosol induction-removal system for mitigating airborne disease transmission in shared indoor environments (Building and Environment)

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What COVID-19 Does to the Body will continue as long as people still develop serious health issues from repeated bouts with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Make sure to subscribe and support the Pandemic Accountability Index as the federal war on science and public health continues in 2026 and beyond. Stay safe, protect yourself and your loved ones, and share this widely!

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