Since the pandemic shut down life in 2020, some people are still having trouble shutting down COVID-19’s effects.
Cases of people experiencing long COVID have risen, according to the CDC. Those experiencing long COVID still have symptoms of the virus four weeks after testing negative. Brain fog, fatigue, and pulmonary issues can all be symptoms but researchers are still trying to understand why it develops.
A recent study by the JAMA Network says long COVID can set people back 10 years in aerobic exercise but researchers say there is a number of factors for this.
Tampa General Hospital pulmonologist Dr. Debrabrata Bandypadhyay says its going to do a detriment to health overall.
“Their social activity goes down because they get, they go into depression. All these things, set the clock back definitely, and all this has impact on the physical health of a person as well” said Dr. Bandypadhyay.
Mercy for Tampa animals
Tampa natives and animals alike can join a new family at Mercy Full Project animal shelter. The Mercy Full Project is a non profit animal shelter helping Tampa strays find a home. Around since 2019 the founders saw the project as a way to help the community around them.
Heydi Acuña, founder of the Mercy Full Project, believes her passion for helping started while she was young.
“I remember when I was a kid, just walking the streets of Bogota and seeing stray dogs that didn’t have water or food, and always asking myself why I was not able to help them and do extra for them” said Acuña.
Hillsborough County animal resource statistics say that 827 animals were brought into shelters in September. With numbers rising and shelters packing Acuña remains committed to a family aspect and treating the animals with care.
Mercy Full volunteer, Veronique Godoy sees the passion from her mentor.
When I came here the first time, I saw how much he cared for them. She was like treating them like it was her own like animals,” said Godoy, “and I just love that cuz I’ve seen so many bad situations where in shelters they don’t really treat animals well.”
Credits
Anchor: Eduardo Reksiedler
Reporters: Eduardo Reksiedler, Gabe Glassman
Video Editor: Antonio Delucca
Web Editor: Sebastian Wick
Web Managing Editor: Valadou Pantelis
Graduate Assistant: McKenzie Muskett
Faculty Adviser: Dr. Stephanie Anderson, Wayne Garcia
