SABRINA MORENO Richmond Times-Dispatch Results from an ongoing VCU study show more than half of COVID-19 survivors who lost their sense of smell and taste are reporting a decreased enjoyment of life. Two out of five respondents indicated feelings of depression and 45% couldnât detect whether something around them was burning. The research, conducted over a year-long period with 322 people, is one of the most recent insights into the long-term impacts of a virus whose early warning signs was a diminished sense of smell, or anosmia. More than 3,000 total patients have been tracked since last April. Most participants began to recover within weeks to a month following infection, said Dr. Richard Costanzo, research director of VCU Healthâs Smell and Taste Disorders Center, which led the investigations and launched more than 30 years ago.