Long Covid Newsletter
Issue #24February 16, 20267 studies

27% of pregnant women hospitalized with COVID developed long COVID symptoms

New research this week reveals how long COVID affects everyone from pregnant women to people's hearing—and scientists are getting closer to understanding what's happening in our brains and bodies months after infection.

🤱 Pregnant Women Face High Long COVID Risk

  • 27% of 348 pregnant women hospitalized with COVID-19 developed long COVID symptoms lasting months after infection

  • Women with preexisting respiratory problems were 3 times more likely to develop persistent symptoms

  • COVID vaccination cut long COVID risk nearly in half—15.5% in vaccinated vs 31.8% in unvaccinated women

Why it matters: This Italian hospital study suggests 1 in 4 hospitalized pregnant women may face months of fatigue, memory problems, and other symptoms. The protective effect of vaccination was substantial, supporting recommendations for COVID shots during pregnancy.

Key Findings

🦻 Long COVID Linked to Hearing and Balance Problems

  • Systematic review found long COVID can cause hearing loss, tinnitus, dizziness, and balance issues

  • Four possible mechanisms: direct inner ear damage, blood clots affecting auditory pathways, nerve disruption, and altered brain processing

  • Current treatments focus on general hearing problems rather than COVID-specific issues

💡 Early recognition of audiovestibular symptoms may prevent permanent hearing loss in long COVID patients.

🧠 Brain Scans Show Cognitive Network Disruption

  • 19 long COVID patients had slower reaction times on cognitive tests compared to 16 healthy controls

  • Brain imaging revealed disrupted connections in networks handling attention, language, and executive function

  • Longer illness duration was associated with weaker brain connectivity but some compensatory increases

💡 Brain network disruptions may explain the persistent "brain fog" many long COVID patients experience.
Top 20% journal 🔗 Scientific reports 🗓️ Feb 9

💓 Heart Rhythm Problems 74% More Common After COVID

  • Meta-analysis of 14 studies found 74% higher risk of arrhythmias in people with long COVID

  • Atrial fibrillation risk increased 49%, while ventricular arrhythmias rose 72%

  • Patients with severe initial COVID infections faced the highest heart rhythm risks

💡 Long-term cardiac monitoring may be important for COVID survivors, especially those who were hospitalized.
Top 50% journal 🔗 Journal of arrhythmia 🗓️ Feb 12

🔄 Reinfections Slightly Increase Long COVID Risk

  • Danish study of 4.4 million people found reinfection increased long COVID diagnosis risk from 0.73% to 1.16%

  • Only 6,942 people (0.16%) received hospital diagnoses for long COVID over the study period

  • Prior vaccination substantially reduced long COVID risk regardless of infection number

💡 While reinfections do increase risk, the absolute increase is smaller than after first infections.
🥈 Top 2% journal 🔗 The Lancet regional health. Europe 🗓️ Feb 12

🌍 Long COVID Symptoms Vary Dramatically by Country

  • Study of 3,157 patients across US, Colombia, Nigeria, and India found major regional differences

  • Brain fog, muscle pain, and dizziness were most common in US and Colombia, least common in India

  • Symptom burden clustered into two groups: US/Colombia with higher rates, Nigeria/India with lower rates

💡 Cultural factors and healthcare access may influence how long COVID symptoms are reported and recognized globally.
Top 20% journal 🔗 Frontiers in human neuroscience 🗓️ Feb 13

🦠 Antibodies May Mimic Key Enzyme Function

  • Researchers identified 4 human antibodies against spike protein that had ACE2-like enzymatic activity

  • These "abzyme" antibodies may contribute to blood pressure changes and other long COVID symptoms

  • The antibodies worked through a different mechanism than natural ACE2 enzyme

💡 Antibodies that mimic ACE2 function could help explain some of the cardiovascular symptoms in long COVID.

Implications

This week's research paints long COVID as a complex, multi-system condition affecting everything from pregnancy outcomes to brain networks to heart rhythms. The good news: vaccination consistently emerges as protective, and scientists are identifying specific biological mechanisms that could lead to targeted treatments.

Studies in this issue

Primary sources used for this newsletter.

  1. Long COVID after COVID-19 infection during pregnancy in a large Italian hospital
    main storyActa obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica2026-02-13PMID 41685877
  2. Brain symptoms of Long COVID compared across continents
    key findingFrontiers in human neuroscience2026-02-13PMID 41685290
  3. Reduced natural brain network connections in long COVID during mental effort
    key findingScientific reports2026-02-09PMID 41663609
  4. Enzyme-like activity similar to ACE-2 found in antibodies targeting SARS-CoV-2 spike protein
    key findingbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology2026-02-12PMID 41676584
  5. Higher Risk of Irregular Heartbeats in Long COVID
    key findingJournal of arrhythmia2026-02-12PMID 41675585
  6. SARS-CoV-2 reinfections and later risk of hospital-diagnosed long COVID in Denmark (2020-2022)
    key findingThe Lancet regional health. Europe2026-02-12PMID 41675440
  7. Hearing and Balance Problems Linked to Long COVID: Overview of Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment
    key findingInternational journal of molecular sciences2026-02-13PMID 41683839

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