Long COVID caused exhaustion, headaches, and other symptoms for Eve Efron of Fairfax, Virginia. Credit: Getty, Carolyn Van Houten, and The Washington Post
An estimated 65 million or more people are still suffering from the frequently devastating effects of long COVID more than three years after SARS-CoV-2 started its global spread, and scientists continue to have trouble comprehending this complex condition.
Even the definition of long COVID, which can cause headaches, fatigue,” brain fog,” and other symptoms, is up for debate. Its origins are also a mystery.
However, scientists now have enough information to give some preliminary answers to pressing questions about the condition, such as when it might improve, what might increase the risk of developing long COVID, and what can be done to stop it.
How many people who have COVID for a long time recover?
The answer to that depends in part on whether someone qualifies as recovered. That, in turn, is dependent on the widely varied definition of long COVID. Although that definition is disputed, the World Health Organization ( WHO ) defines it as symptoms that appear three months after contracting SARS-CoV-2 and last for at least two months.
Why does COVID pose a life-threatening threat to some people? Genetics research provides hints.
Researchers followed 1, 106 adults who contracted SARS-CoV-2 before vaccines were made available for a study2 that was published in May. 22.9 % of