‘Clear differences’ in blood of patients with long COVID, research shows

People who feel they may be suffering from the effects of what is known as "long COVID" now have a way to know for sure.

Scientists on Monday published research in the journal Nature that found "clear differences" in the blood of people with long COVID versus those without, a finding that could lead to testing for long COVID.

One of the main discrepancies: Patients with long COVID have much lower levels of the hormone cortisol, the report says.

Scientists have discovered there are key differences in the blood of people suffering from long COVID and the upshot is, this difference could be used to develop a test for long COVID. NBC Bay Area’s Jessica Aguirre spoke to UCSF’s Dr. Peter Chin-Hong for some insight.

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Cortisol helps a person feel alert and awake, which may explain why people with long COVID report feeling profound fatigue, officials say.

Meanwhle, for those who want to stay vigilant about testing for COVID, the federal government is again stepping in to help, with a relaunch of the free COVID tests program.

Each household is eligible for up to four at-home COVID tests delivered by U.S. mail. Visit covid.gov/tests to sign up.