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Gabrielle Jospa, 15, was diagnosed with long COVID after a serious bout with acute COVID-19 that left her hospitalized in 2021. Since then, the Long Island, New York, teen has had crippling headaches, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), fatigue, joint pain, anxiety, and problems at school.

But perhaps the worst part for Jospa is that she says she's often treated like she's not telling the truth. Teachers and doctors shrug off her symptoms as those of an overly dramatic teenager.

That's why her recent participation in the National Institutes of Health 's Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) study has been so validating. Jospa said that for the first time, she's being treated by doctors who listen to her complaints and understand that her symptoms are caused by long COVID.

Teens like Jospa have become an increasing focus of researchers who have also begun to outline how, and how many, kids and adolescents are affected by the disorder and how the symptoms vary within each age group. Their findings are helping detail what doctors, pediatricians, and parents need to know about the long-term impacts of long COVID on kids and teens—an issue some public health experts say has not received enough attention. Head over to Medscape to read the full story.