Long COVID occurs in people with probable or confirmed COVID infection, usually 3 months from the start of COVID symptoms that last for at least 2 months and can’t be explained by another diagnosis.
Long COVID has also been called “long haul COVID”, “post COVID”, “post COVID-19 syndrome” or “post COVID-19 condition”.
Some of the more common symptoms of long COVID that can have an impact on everyday functioning include fatigue, breathlessness, cough, cognitive dysfunction – sometimes called ‘brain fog’, difficulty resuming movement and exercise and problems with sleep. There are others but these are the more common ones.
Symptoms may be new following the initial recovery from COVID, or persist from the initial illness. Symptoms may also come and go or appear to get better or worsen over time.
Long COVID can affect anyone. It can happen in both older or younger people, people who are healthy and people with other health problems. Long COVID can happen if you were hospitalized for COVID-19 even if you were not hospitalized.
All of the risk factors are not quite known yet. What is known is that older age is a risk factor, and females appear to be more prone to long COVID than males. Those with other chronic illnesses are also a little more at risk of long COVID.
Because long COVID is quite new, it is hard to predict how long it will affect each person. Most people experience some improvement after a number of weeks or months of dealing with their symptoms but for some people, the problems can last much longer or improve, then worsen again.
Talking to your healthcare team if you have longer lasting symptoms – symptoms that last longer than 2 months, is an important first step.
Yes. Having COVID is not the same as getting the vaccine for COVID. Talk to your healthcare team if you have questions about the vaccine and your health.
Some people find that their symptoms change after vaccination, however, more research is happening to study this.
