How Long Do Lingering Symptoms Last After COVID-19?

Lingering COVID-19 symptoms can last for at least four weeks or even a few months after first being infected. Sometimes, symptoms will go away and come back.

COVID-19 is a novel (new) coronavirus, not previously identified in humans, responsible for an outbreak of respiratory illness that became a global pandemic in 2020. COVID-19 is different from other coronaviruses that cause mild illness, such as the common cold.

Lingering symptoms after COVID-19 are called long COVID, long-haul COVID, post-acute COVID-19, long-term effects of COVID, chronic COVID, or Post-Acute Coronavirus Disease Syndrome (PACS), and people may experience these lingering symptoms for at least four weeks or even a few months after first being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. In some cases, symptoms will go away and come back.

There are three types of long COVID: 

• Those who do not recover completely and have ongoing symptoms 
• Those who have symptoms that appear after recovery
• Those whose symptoms are related to chronic hospitalization

Lingering symptoms after COVID-19 are similar to many symptoms of COVID-19 and may include:

• Cough
• Shortness of breath
• Difficulty breathing
• Tiredness/fatigue
• Symptoms that worsen after physical or mental activities 
• Difficulty thinking or concentrating (“brain fog”)
• Stomach pain
• Loss of appetite 
• Headache
• Chest pain
• Heart palpitations
• Joint or muscle pain
• Change in smell or taste
• Numbness and tingling or “pins and needles” feeling
• Diarrhea
• Sleep problems/insomnia 
• Fever
• Dizziness on standing 
• Rash
• Mood changes
• Changes in menstrual period cycles
• Anxiety
• Depression

In people who had severe illness with COVID-19, lingering symptoms may include: 

• Multiorgan effects 
  • Can affect all organ systems, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, skin, and brain 
• Autoimmune conditions
  • The immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells in the body causing inflammation or tissue damage 
• Multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS) (rare)
  • Affects children more often than adults
  • Different body parts can become inflamed

Lingering symptoms after COVID-19 that can occur in patients who are hospitalized or who had severe illness may include: 

• Severe weakness and exhaustion during the recovery period
• Post-intensive care syndrome (PICS)
  • Health effects that start when a person is in an intensive care unit (ICU) and continue after a person goes home
  • Severe weakness, problems with thinking and judgment, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)