A study by FAIR Health looked through two million health records and found that almost a quarter of patients required medical care for long COVID symptoms without initial coronavirus infection.* This study is the largest one to date on this topic.

Long-haul symptoms vary from person to person and affect what seems to be every organ system. Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, chief of the research and development service at the VA St. Louis Health Care System, explains that “Some of these manifestations are chronic conditions that will last a lifetime and will forever scar some individuals and families.” 

Long COVID symptoms may include:

• Debilitating Fatigue
• Pain in Nerves and Muscles
• Breathing Difficulties
• High Cholesterol
• Malaise
• High Blood Pressure
• Gastrointestinal Symptoms
• Migraines
• Skin Problems
• Heart Abnormalities
• Sleep Disorders
• Anxiety and Depression

These symptoms can last weeks or months after a person is infected with the virus, but they can also appear weeks or months later. Long COVID can occur in people who had asymptomatic, mild, or severe cases of initial infection. Some people don’t even know that they had COVID…” but if they continue to present with some of these conditions that are unusual for their health history, it may be worth some further investigation by the medical professional that they’re working with,” explains Robin Gelbur, president of FAIR Health.

Finding care for long COVID symptoms can be challenging since it’s a new virus, but long COVID clinics are popping up across the country. Additionally, you can talk to your primary healthcare provider about treating long COVID symptoms if you think you might have a post-infection condition.

Getting vaccinated is another important component to preventing reinfection and potentially reducing the severity of symptoms. Ongoing studies continue to look at the COVID-19 vaccine’s ability to diminish long-term symptoms; Yale Medicine has reported that anywhere from 30 to 40% of those who get the vaccine have reported improvements in symptoms.

Additional information on this topic can be found in the article “Why Vaccines May Be Helping Some With Long COVID” on Yale Medicine’s website.

*Corbett, E. (2021, June 15). Even If You Had Asymptomatic COVID, You Might Feel Symptoms Months Later. Refinery29. https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2021/06/10527370/long-haul-covid-symptoms-effects-lasting 

Much about the novel coronavirus, i.e., COVID-19, is still not fully understood. As research progresses and our knowledge of the virus increases, information can change rapidly. We strive to update all of our articles as quickly as possible, but there may occasionally be some lag between scientific developments and our revisions.