My argument is that the level of fear inducing information surrounding most people on the planet, associated with covid, was nowhere comparable to fear inducing info associated with any disease and their potentially correlated (or not correlated) potential psychological side effects.

By saying this I'm not claiming that long covid is caused by a psychological side effect of a/ having been infected and b/ the information and fear induced state most people fell into and/or c/ other complex compounded side affects of the measures put in place to fight the pandemic: loss of income, job, sense of safety, isolation and containment driving our minds pretty sick

I'm saying it could be hence finding correlation between covid infection and longer than short term symptoms described in many independent observation MAY be a red herring

Last, an over simplified illustration:

- put, furtively some toxine in food and 1000 consume it. - 800, let's say. get sick then recover entirely in the short term.

- put, some toxin in food, followed by massive information campaigns, hammering everyone day in and out of the presence of a toxin in food, then lock everyone up, have 200 lose their job, lose contact with their closed ones, etc etc - 200, let's say, global knowledge some food was contaminated didn't help an ounce to reduce their consumption, get sick. - 20, let's say, don't fully recover short term and are left with what we would call "long toxin consumption syndrome", suffering various side effects.

And we have research insisting they are seeing correlation between a toxin and long term side effects. Ignoring the social, economical and psychological very potential effect/contribution to these longer term symptoms, I find flagrant lack of hollistic view to phenomenon often lacking scientific researchers.