Long COVID
For many, COVID-19 symptoms can linger and worsen long after the initial infection. This is known as Long COVID. It can strike people of any age and health condition, including children.
Long COVID symptoms range from chronic fatigue to brain fog to organ damage like breathing difficulties and heart problems. For many, these symptoms have a severe impact on their health and wellbeing.
A recent survey in the UK investigated how frequent long COVID may be:
The latest data for England, based on the Covid infection survey, which randomly samples households for coronavirus, reveals over 20% of almost 8,200 participants who were followed up after testing positive still had symptoms five weeks after infection, with 10% reporting symptoms 12 weeks after infection…
About 11% of participants reported experiencing fatigue five weeks after infection, with 11% reporting a cough and 10% citing headaches. Fever, muscle aches, diarrhoea, and loss of taste and smell were among a long list of other symptoms many continued to experience.
Similarly, a recent article published in Nature reported:
Estimates of the number of people with long COVID vary widely. In July, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that one in five patients 18–34 years of age without chronic medical conditions and with a positive outpatient test had not fully recovered by 2–3 weeks after testing, and a research center in Rome found that 87% of 143 patients reported persistence of at least one symptom 60 days after onset of the disease. According to a preprint published in October that has not yet undergone peer review, 24% of 233 patients still had symptoms at 90 days after infection.
There are many unknowns pertaining to Long COVID, including: the range of symptoms, the progression of the disease, the underlying causes of Long COVID, the prevalence of different Long COVID symptoms and the duration of these symptoms.
For current Long COVID patients
There are support groups in many countries around the world, many of which include testimonials from current Long COVID patients (see below).
Up to date information about Long COVID, including the latest scientific data is available from the UK National Institute of Health Research.
There is a growing awareness of Long COVID among physicians, but there still are no established diagnostic criteria or treatment options and not all physicians know to look for Long COVID.
We are all at risk of Long COVID, but our individual actions (wearing masks, practicing physical distancing, and hand washing) and collective actions (testing, contact tracing, travel restrictions, and building green zones) are effective at stopping the spread of the virus, preventing infections and keeping each other safe.
