long covid

Long COVID or long-haul COVID is a group of health problems persisting or developing after an initial period of COVID‑19 from SARS-CoV-2 infection. Symptoms can last weeks, months, or years and are often debilitating. The World Health Organization defines long COVID as starting three months after the initial disease, but other agencies define it as starting at four weeks after the initial COVID-19.

Long COVID is characterised by a large number of symptoms that sometimes disappear and then reappear. Commonly reported symptoms of long COVID are fatigue, memory problems, shortness of breath, and sleep disorder. Several other symptoms, including headaches, mental health issues, initial loss of smell or taste, muscle weakness, fever, and cognitive dysfunction ("brain fog") may also present. Symptoms often get worse after mental or physical effort, a process called post-exertional malaise (PEM). There is a large overlap in symptoms with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).