long COVID

noun

variants or less commonly long COVID-19 or long-haul COVID or long-haul COVID-19

: a condition that is marked by the presence of symptoms (such as fatigue, cough, shortness of breath, headache, or brain fog) which persist for an extended period of time (such as weeks or months) following a person's initial recovery from COVID-19 infection : post-covid syndrome

The sickest COVID-19 patients are not the only ones to suffer from long COVID. Patients who had a milder initial case that didn't result in hospitalization can also have persistent symptoms.

—Stephanie LaVergne

Because of the growing number of long COVID patients, more hospitals are creating outpatient clinics with multiple specialists or expanding centers that initially focused only on patients leaving intensive care units.

—Meredith Cohn

Ceresa is one of a growing number of COVID-19 survivors with serious symptoms that last far beyond the acute infection with the virus. Some of these patients, often referred to as 'long-haulers' or people with long COVID-19 … are receiving treatment at … clinics like the one at Mount Sinai.

—Kevin Loria

… long-haul COVID-19 refers to the ongoing adverse health effects of coronavirus infection, which can last for weeks, and even months, after the initial phase of their illness has passed.

—Eve Glazier and Elizabeth Ko

Examples of long COVID in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania recently found that long COVID patients had different levels of chemicals in their body compared to those who had recovered, the most significant of which were levels of serotonin. —Dr. Krupa Patel, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2023

How long COVID vaccine side effects last can vary, lasting only a few hours to a couple of days. —Alyssa Hui, Verywell Health, 23 Oct. 2023

Businesses’ difficulty hiring has been blamed on a gamut of ills: Too-generous unemployment benefits; too many stimulus checks; not enough immigration; too many workers with long COVID, and, finally, simple laziness. —Byirina Ivanova, Fortune, 14 Oct. 2023

In this Guardian piece about chronic pain and long COVID, Linda Geddes explores the growing realization that pain can be a disease in and of itself, one that the pandemic may have worsened. —Laura Newberry, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2023

Tamika Samson is among the newer wave of long COVID patients. —Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 28 Aug. 2023

While thought to be less common, long COVID from later strains may feature important differences. —Byerin Prater, Fortune Well, 21 Aug. 2023

In addition to long COVID and ME/CFS, chronic Lyme disease, multiple sclerosis and autoimmune diseases such as lupus affect women more often. —Emily Mendenhall, Scientific American, 10 Nov. 2023

What This Means For You More research is needed on the topic of gut health and long COVID, but there appears to be a connection. —Andrea Michelson, Verywell Health, 31 Aug. 2023

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Word History

First Known Use

2020, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

long COVID

noun

variants also long COVID-19 or long-haul COVID or long-haul COVID-19

: a condition that is marked by the presence of symptoms (such as fatigue, cough, shortness of breath, headache, or brain fog) which persist for an extended period of time (such as weeks or months) following a person's initial recovery from COVID-19 infection : post-covid syndrome

… there's no clear way to diagnose long COVID and no standard treatment protocol. Some long haulers feel better after a couple of weeks following the initial infection, but then fall ill to old or even new disease-related symptoms that may affect multiple organs and systems weeks or months later. For others … their symptoms never fully abate after the initial infection; they just linger.

—Melba Newsome, Charlotte (North Carolina) Observer

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is set to release interim guidance for physicians treating patients with long COVID-19 …

—Congressional Quarterly News

… long-haul COVID-19 refers to the ongoing adverse health effects of coronavirus infection, which can last for weeks, and even months, after the initial phase of their illness has passed.

—Eve Glazier and Elizabeth Ko, Chicago Daily Herald

Long-haul COVID patients tend to exhibit the kinds of symptoms about which disability case reviewers have historically been skeptical, if not downright hostile. These include chronic fatigue, nonspecific body and nerve pain, headaches and persistent confusion known as "brain fog."

—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times