Some people continue to experience symptoms of COVID-19 weeks, months, or years after their first infection. This is known as Long COVID. Researchers are analyzing multiple data to learn more about Long COVID. Current evidence suggests that unvaccinated people are at a higher risk of long COVID than people who get infected after vaccination.

Long COVID or Post-COVID conditions (PCC) are a wide range of new, returning, or ongoing health problems that people continue to experience after their first COVID-19 infection. About 1 in 5 adults have been diagnosed with long COVID in the US. They have reported issues like kidney failure, heart, respiratory, neurological, and mental health conditions. These problems can last weeks or even years.

Although anyone who has ever been infected with COVID-19 can develop long COVID, it is mostly found among people who have had severe COVID-19 illness when infected. Also, unvaccinated people infected with COVID-19 may be at a higher risk of developing long COVID than vaccinated people who test positive.

There is currently no specific test for long COVID because the symptoms are similar to that of other health conditions. However, healthcare providers usually consider if a person has a history of COVID-19, and they also clinically assess patients to determine if they have long COVID. Please reach out to your healthcare provider if you think you may be experiencing long COVID.

Researchers are using advanced technological methods like machine learning to further identify specific sub-groups of people at a higher risk of long COVID.