from the first study: > participants who had recovered from Covid-19 in whom symptoms had resolved in less than 4 weeks or at least 12 weeks had similar small

from the first study: > participants who had recovered from Covid-19 in whom symptoms had resolved in less than 4 weeks or at least 12 weeks had similar small deficits in global cognition as compared with those in the no–Covid-19 group, who had not been infected with SARS-CoV-2 or had unconfirmed infection So they're not comparing people over time, they're comparing people who've recently had COVID to people who have not ever had COVID. Given that white collar workers like lawyers, consultants, and software devs can stay home and not get COVID more easily than blue collar workers like grocery store clerks and the like, it isn't surprising that there's a very small IQ differential here. This is published in a very prestigious journal, so I'm hesitant to assume my critique is correct. But at first glance I wouldn't take this to mean that you're likely to lose any IQ points from getting COVID, especially now. It also says > Larger deficits were seen in participants who had SARS-CoV-2 infection during periods in which the original virus or the B.1.1.7 variant was predominant than in those infected with later variants and > longer-term persistence of cognitive deficits and any clinical implications remain uncertain.