SEATTLE, Wash. — Mid-March marked five years since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 a pandemic. Since then, Long Covid has been a focus of medical research. It’s when people who’ve recovered develop symptoms again within three months of infection. Sometimes those symptoms can last for years.
In this week’s Healthier Together, KIRO 7’s Ranji Sinha spoke to researchers about their findings to help people understand if they’re at risk when symptoms linger.
The good news? The WHO says the chance of developing Long Covid appears to be lower now than it was at the peak of the pandemic several years ago.
However, there are still risks of the virus spreading. A 2022 Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report says 6.9% of U.S. adults reported experiencing Long Covid.
The most common symptoms include:
-Fatigue
-Breathlessness
-Muscle or joint pain
-Sleep issues
A symposium hosted in the fall of 2024 by UW Medicine featured health officials from 30 states and four different countries. Speakers said that education about Long Covid is a top priority.
The symposium highlighted the trend that the more Covid-19 infections have, the more likely it is that you will have Long Covid.
It also highlighted that even a mild Covid-19 infection can lead to severe Long Covid complications.
CDC data also shows that 7% of the population is impacted by Long Covid, and it is mostly hitting people in their 30s, 40s, and 50s.
Long Covid can worsen conditions like lung disease, and people can often have persistent problems breathing.
CDC data shows that sometimes it’s so bad that a quarter of people reporting Long Covid symptoms have trouble functioning at work or have to leave work altogether.
Researchers believe this could be because of scarring of lung tissue from the initial infection.
According to the CDC and other health agencies, one of the best ways to stave off Long Covid is to stay up to date with flu and Covid vaccines—especially for people over the age of 65 and those who are immunocompromised.
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