Now remember that healthy lung function is essential to pass a medical for all aircrew.
Not only aircrews, ATC has class 3 medicals that include this as well, if this permanent damage is verified we risk of losing lots of professionals when this over ..
I am however wary of that statement as the number of recovered cases is quite high by now and surely a post case study of those cases is being made and a result such as this one would be more mediatized ..