Posted on 05/13/22
| News Source: The Hill
Public health experts are divided over how many people are getting long COVID-19, a potentially debilitating condition that comes after a patient has recovered from the coronavirus.
Ill effects from the condition can include fatigue, pain, neurological issues and even changes in mental health.
Initially, public health officials believed that only a small minority of people would suffer from long COVID-19. But some studies now indicate a majority of those infected with the coronavirus are experiencing long COVID-19 symptoms.
Still, estimates on the numbers of people with long COVID are all over the map.
Researchers from the Penn State College of Medicine found that more than half of COVID-19 survivors had long COVID-19.
Another study from the University of Arizona found that about 2 out of 3 people who experienced mild or moderate cases of coronavirus had long-lasting symptoms.
Other reports have been more conservative, estimating anywhere between 10 to 30 percent of those infected develop long-term symptoms. Those who experience ongoing symptoms from long COVID-19 have sometimes come to be known as COVID-19 long haulers.
It’s generally believed that people who developed severe cases of COVID-19 are more likely to have long COVID-19, but even those who had asymptomatic cases have reported lingering after-effects months after testing negative.
One problem in figuring out how many people get long COVID-19 is defining it.