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

His next game will be his first since April 2023, after long COVID derailed the now 37-year-old’s NHL career. —Murat Ates, New York Times, 21 June 2025

He'd been forced to sit out on touring with the band for two years due to a battle with long COVID, and first returned to performing with Jane's Addiction that May. —Emily Trainham, FOXNews.com, 19 May 2025

Others developed long COVID, which is recognized as a collection of symptoms that last three months or longer after initial COVID symptoms appear. —Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 June 2025

There is also a strong correlation between long COVID incidence and the presence of other chronic diseases at the time of infection. —Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Mar. 2025

Scientists are not sure what causes long COVID but have identified risk factors including having underlying conditions. —Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 3 Feb. 2025

Research has consistently found that people with long COVID have reduced blood flow in the brain. —The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 May 2025

The disease wrought wildly different effects, from mild symptoms to long COVID or death. —Bill Chappell, NPR, 10 Mar. 2025

Around 11 percent experienced long COVID symptoms while 2 percent were admitted to the hospital, the data shows. —Elizabeth Crisp, The Hill, 7 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

2020, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

long COVID

noun

variants also long COVID-19

: a condition that is marked by the presence of symptoms which persist for an extended period of time following a person's initial recovery from COVID-19 infection

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