COVID-19 really knocked out Jennifer Stewart. The Buffalo native contracted the virus in January 2022, but even after cold and flu-like symptoms subsided, the fatigue didn’t.

“One time, I drove my son to work and as I drove back, I was thinking about my parents coming over for dinner," she said. "So I had to get things done at a set time. But by the time I got home, I was almost falling asleep in the car. And by the time I got home, I had to lay down it. It was the type of exhaustion that doesn't give you a choice. You just you have to lay down and go to sleep.”

She’s not alone.

Thousands of adults in the U.S. are experiencing what’s called long COVID. It presents a wide range of health issues that persist after a person becomes infected with COVID-19. A recent CDC study found 16% of U.S. adults reported still having COVID-related symptoms one year after they first got sick. The most common symptoms were head allergies and extreme fatigue.

Dr. Gary Rogg is among the doctors around the state who are developing new methods to treat long COVID and get folks back up to full speed again. He’s the Westchester Medical Center’s director of post-COVID recovery program.

The program involves pairing patients with specialists who can assist with their unique symptoms for both physical and mental health.

“We really take a more holistic, full-body approach," he said. "So even if you come in with brain fog, we don't just pay attention to the brain fog. It's the entire body. And we really kind of start from the ground level.”

The University at Buffalo is also looking into ways to help patients feel better faster. The school is running a new clinical trial using low doses of lithium. Because long COVID is believed to stem from chronic inflammation, lithium’s anti-inflammatory properties make it effective.

A doctor from UB said some patients saw improvement within days. That trial is why Stewart has been able to live her life again without extreme fatigue.

“I was actually on vacation and when I, like, I started the trial right before I left for vacation that summer," Stewart said. "And I called [the doctor] while I was on vacation because I just couldn't believe that I felt so much better after literally four days.”

Rogg said that hospitals around the state and nation are collaborating on how to treat long COVID, so there is hope that treatments will become more mainstream in the near future.