Even after they have recovered from COVID-19, many people find that some symptoms linger for weeks or months. In a study of 700 people, six weeks after diagnosis, 33% of them still reported suffering from fatigue, loss of smell or taste, shortness of breath or cough. This long-lasting illness and symptoms has been coined "long COVID.”
Researchers noted that it is important that persistent symptoms of COVID-19 are recognized in order to legitimize the concerns of patients and optimize their care.
"This requires an information campaign towards the general public and healthcare workers, but also, more broadly, among employers, insurance companies and society in general. Everyone should realize that previously healthy people can also be affected by COVID-19, weeks or even months following the infection," said the study authors.
Many aspects, including long-term effects, of the disease are still unknown and studies are ongoing. Study centers have been set up to examine reports of long-haul symptoms on an ongoing basis. “This has enabled us to better understand the evolution of the disease in people who generally suffer neither from specific risk factors nor from a serious form of the disease," said Dr. Idris Guessous, who directed the featured study.
Source: Science Daily December 8, 2020