Nearly four years have passed since COVID swept the globe, infecting millions and bringing society to a grinding halt. The ensuing months saw strict mask mandates, revolutionary vaccines, new viral strains, and—finally—a return to some sort of normal. With the end of the public health emergency and a sudden disappearance of the once-ubiquitous masks, it’s easy to feel like the pandemic is, well, over. But some would strongly disagree with that prognosis—and one group in particular: people suffering from the lasting effects of long COVID. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Kim Rhoads, a Berkeley grad and associate professor at UCSF, about the challenge of diagnosing this post-viral illness, its wide-ranging and often mysterious symptoms, and why you might not want to throw out your mask just yet.

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