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

Vaccination also reduces your chance of experiencing long COVID, which can develop during or following acute infection and drag on for months or longer. —Don Rauf, EverydayHealth.com, 28 June 2024

Hospitalizations have, thankfully, not spiked, and the risk of developing long COVID is lower now than early in the pandemic, according to a recent study, particularly among vaccinated individuals. —Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2024

But the dip does not mean the risk of developing long COVID has vanished. —Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 25 July 2024

Research has shown that getting vaccinated reduces the risk of hospitalization and death from the virus, as well as developing long COVID — something Duggirala often tells his young and healthy patients to persuade them to make time for getting the shot. —Angela Roberts, Baltimore Sun, 24 July 2024

During that time, individuals who were vaccinated against COVID were about half as likely to develop long COVID than unvaccinated people. —Claire Bugos, Verywell Health, 19 July 2024

One is whether the type or number of vaccines affect the risk of long COVID—that was not included in the study. —Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 18 July 2024

And anyone, even seemingly healthy adults, can get seriously ill from it, whether that’s from the infection itself or the long COVID that can come after it. —Christa Sgobba, SELF, 2 Aug. 2024

Prior to the May show, Navarro had been out of the group due to symptoms from long COVID and was replaced on the road in recent years by former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist/Pearl Jam multi-instrumentalist Josh Klinghoffer and Queens of the Stone Age’s Troy Van Leeuwen. —Spin Staff, SPIN, 24 July 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