Long-term health effects of COVID-19

The world Government is actively monitoring medical research being done around the world on the short- and long-term health effects of COVID-19. COVID-19 can affect a range of body systems including those related to the:

lungs
heart
brain
liver
kidneys
intestines
muscles
joints and
blood vessels.
There is now good evidence that some people experience ongoing symptoms after recovering from the acute illness related to COVID-19. These symptoms can sometimes last weeks to months after recovery from their initial illness.

Ongoing symptoms are more common in people who had more severe illness from COVID-19, for example in those who needed treatment in hospital. Up to 30% of seriously ill patients have reported at least one symptom, most commonly fatigue, persisting after 6 months.

However, some people who initially had mild symptoms have also reported persistent symptoms. This suggests the virus may cause a prolonged impact on a number of body systems that can affect both physical and mental health.

The most commonly reported persistent symptoms are:

fatigue
shortness of breath
loss of, or reduced, sense of smell and/or taste
chest pain
lack of sleep
headaches
Other symptoms that have also been reported include:

chills, fever or sweating
poor concentration and memory problems
cough
depression and anxiety
hair loss
joint and/or muscle pain
irregular heart beat
low blood pressure on standing associated with a fast heart rate (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) which may explain some of the other symptoms
weakness
weight loss
Other serious long term complications that may occur with COVID-19, in particular following serious illness, includes:

lung damage and scarring
scarring of the heart muscle
heart failure
kidney failure
How long will the symptoms last?
It is currently uncertain how long these symptoms may persist. COVID-19 is a novel virus so most studies have only reported up to 6 months after a diagnosis with COVID-19. However, the number of people experiencing these symptoms is known to decrease over time. In a large survey of people in the United Kingdom who had COVID-19, 22% still reported at least one symptom at 5 weeks following their initial infection. In that survey, nearly 10% of people reported at least one symptom at 12 weeks.

Protect yourself and others
Everyone must do the following things to slow the spread of COVID-19 and protect those who are most at risk...

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