Long COVID: Learning More
Though new coronavirus variants may initially cause mild infections, there is still the risk of developing symptoms of Long COVID, also known as a Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Some estimates find that nearly half of all people who become infected with COVID-19 will develop long-term symptoms. Click through the links below to better understand the risks and symptoms of Long COVID.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Updated Sept. 16, 2021
“Although most people with COVID-19 get better within weeks of illness, some people experience post-COVID conditions. Post-COVID conditions are a wide range of new, returning, or ongoing health problems people can experience four or more weeks after first being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. Even people who did not have COVID-19 symptoms in the days or weeks after they were infected can have post-COVID conditions. These conditions can present as different types and combinations of health problems for different lengths of time.
These post-COVID conditions may also be known as long COVID, long-haul COVID, post-acute COVID-19, long-term effects of COVID, or chronic COVID. CDC and experts around the world are working to learn more about short- and long-term health effects associated with COVID-19, who gets them, and why.”
What doctors wish patients knew about long COVID
“Nevertheless, it is estimated that anywhere from 15% to 80% of patients might experience long COVID after recovering—even if they weren’t very sick in the first place. This leaves many COVID long-haulers with questions about symptoms and what to do. One physician aims to clear up confusion about long-haul COVID-19 and what patients can expect.
Long COVID—or post-COVID conditions—is a wide range of new, returning or ongoing health problems people may experience more than four weeks after being first infected with SARS-CoV-2. Even people who did not have any symptoms can experience long COVID, which can present as different types and combinations of health problems and can range in lengths of time, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).”
Mayo Clinic: COVID-19 (coronavirus): Long-term effects
“Although COVID-19 is seen as a disease that primarily affects the lungs, it can also damage many other organs, including the heart, kidneys and the brain. Organ damage may lead to health complications that linger after COVID-19 illness. In some people, lasting health effects may include long-term breathing problems, heart complications, chronic kidney impairment, stroke and Guillain-Barre syndrome — a condition that causes temporary paralysis.
Some adults and children experience multisystem inflammatory syndrome after they have had COVID-19. In this condition, some organs and tissues become severely inflamed.”
Vaccinated Isn’t Enough: Omicron Carries the Risk of Long Covid
“It’s still unclear how many people infected by the novel coronavirus end up developing Long Covid, but the researchers behind a recent study published in the journal JAMA Network Open estimate that at least 50 percent of those who survive their initial illness go on to experience a number of physical, psychological, and neurological symptoms for a minimum of six months.
Like Covid-19 itself, the symptoms of Long Covid can range from being relatively mild (e.g. becoming out of breath more easily, sleep disruptions, intermittent joint pain) to those that are so severe they leave some people unable to work — like debilitating exhaustion, loss of mobility, cognitive impairment, and drastic personality changes.”