President Trump returned to the White House this week after his release from the hospital for treatment of coronavirus, ripping off his face mask and proclaiming proudly "don't be afraid of it … don't let it dominate your lives."
But for those who are still suffering the effects of the illness weeks, sometimes months, after getting sick, it's tough not to be dominated by the disease.
Michael Herrera of San Jose, California got COVID-19 in early August and ended up spending a month in the hospital, including two weeks on a ventilator.
The 60-year-old had preexisting conditions before he got the virus including being overweight and a cancer survivor.
A month after returning home from the hospital, he still has problems with body aches and shortness of breath and frequently uses oxygen.
Herrera is part of a growing group of former COVID-19 patients called "long haulers," who suffer from a wide range of lingering symptoms including shortness of breath, elevated heart rate, fatigue, headaches, gastrointestinal issues, body aches, brain fog and more.
It's not clear how many people have had lingering symptoms, and how many moving forward will.
In a multistate phone survey of adults who tested positive for the virus, 35 percent had not returned to their pre-COVID-19 health 2 to 3 weeks after their test, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Right now, the only thing doctors can do is treat the symptoms
Herrera is also in constant contact with doctors at San Jose's Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, which created a new clinic specifically set up for continuing COVID-19 post-hospitalization care.
Many of the patients in the program do not have insurance and would have nowhere else to go to get post-COVID-19 treatment.
Herrera's vital signs are monitored remotely by doctors in the hospital who also communicate with Herrera at his home using video conferencing.
Herrera says the new clinic has helped him cope with his lingering symptoms.
In response to President Trump's downplaying of the severity of COVID-19, Herrera said "people think I'm going to get COVID, I'm going to go to the hospital like Trump, they're going to give me some medicine and I'll be okay. No, it does not work like that."
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