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

It is justifiably described by scientists as having put long COVID on the map. —Zeynep Tufekci, The Mercury News, 30 Nov. 2024

More research is being conducted exploring the potential for COVID-19 vaccination to reduce the severity of long COVID symptoms.10 Research on how best to treat long COVID is ongoing as the condition is new. —Heather Jones, Verywell Health, 11 Sep. 2024

Current routine blood tests are not a reliable way of diagnosing long COVID, according to a new study. —Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2024

As many as 400 million people worldwide have developed long COVID since the COVID-19 pandemic began five years ago. —Dan Horn, The Enquirer, 24 Nov. 2024

People who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 may be at higher risk of developing long COVID, according to the CDC. —Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2024

Anyone who has had the SARS-CoV-2 infection — including children — can suffer from long COVID. —Chris Sims, The Courier-Journal, 8 Aug. 2024

Samms has had a rough few years, as she has been hit pretty hard with long COVID, and was unable to leave her hometown of London for outside work. —Rosemary Rossi, Variety, 3 Sep. 2024

Researchers categorized those with long COVID through a scoring system using such symptoms as brain fog, gastrointestinal problems, dizziness and palpitations. —Adriel Bettelheim, Axios, 13 Aug. 2024

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