There are more than 110,000 members of the Facebook Group ‘Survivor Corps,’ ranging from those who have had COVID-19, to families of those who have it, to those that are interested in learning more about the symptoms and experience of those who have been through the mysterious illness. The group was set up early in the pandemic as a resource to bring people together and share information. Today it calls itself a ‘not for profit, grassroots movement educating and mobilizing survivors and connecting them with the medical, scientific and academic research community.’ Survivor Corps says it aims to help stem the tide of the pandemic and assist in the national recovery and has a standalone website with pages on events, surveys, and post-COVID care centers.
It is the Facebook page that connects people to one another however, something desperately needed in the social distanced days we find ourselves in the real-world, riddled with political division and misinformation. Much of the conversation is geared around the premise of ‘Longhaulers’ – those that have survived the initial, potentially fatal onset of the virus – telling their stories about the lingering effects they still experience months later. It is this angle that is getting attention in the mainstream press. A post from the Survivor Corps admins last Friday asks for a ‘Long Term COVID Superhero’ to tell their story on Chicago’s PBS station.
Looking for a CHICAGO area SUPERHERO with LONG TERM COVID to tell their story on
Chicago Tonight!!!
THANK YOU!!!
Another post from Friday is from a member in France, telling the story of the Paris resurgence of the disease, and asking for insight from the group on whether they can get the novel coronavirus twice.
Hey everyone hope everyone is staying safe. Over here in Paris we are about to go back into lockdown as the virus is spreading everywhere without any control. I want to know if any of you know anyone or have gotten Covid 19 twice. My first experience was traumatizing enough. I don’t want to get it again. But at the same time I don’t know if I can deal with the mental toll this is taking on me to not see anyone that I love/care about. Hope all of you are ok!
Within an hour there are 44 responses to the post. A member from Hungary replies with a website he found that tracks worldwide confirmed re-infections.
Here is a website that tracks worldwide confirmed re-infections. Since there are 39 million reported cases worldwide and only 24 confirmed re-infections, the probability of re-infection is quite low … https://bnonews.com/…/08/covid-19-reinfection-tracker/
The community is helping connect the dots and sharing resources to help each other through the disease, in real-time. Of course, this unregulated sharing of information can also provide opportunities for the spread of misinformation and disinformation.
Members of the COVID Survivors site on Facebook, however, are optimistic about the upsides of the online community – bringing people together to share their experiences. A member in South Dakota updates the group about a friend and asks for prayers for others who have become infected. There are 81 replies and 4 shares of the post within 5 hours.
Dear Friends and Family You were all so faithful praying for my friend’s daughter Ashlee – who miraculously survived Covid after being on a vent for 30 days. Sadly -now her son Jacob, his wife, and son have now all tested positive. Her son Jacob has been admitted to the hospital. He has blood clots in his lungs from the virus. They live in North Dakota – and the virus is raging out there. Please pray for Jacob