Have you or a loved one had COVID-19 and experienced lingering symptoms for days, weeks, or months after? You are not alone as some “post-COVID” patients are becoming “long-haulers” of this illness. Physicians are seeing this throughout the country of “post-COVID” clinics. Since scientists are still learning about COVID-19, physicians are unable to give many patients answers to why this is happening and how it should be treated.* 

Is there an official name for post-COVID symptoms?

Of the millions of cases of COVID-19 in the U.S., it’s estimated between 10-30% are experiencing post-COVID symptoms. Due to the high concern and prevalence of the condition, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have given a name to the condition, which is called Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-COV-2 Infection, or PASC. 

Other common names include long COVID and COVID-19 long-haul syndrome, while people affected by these symptoms and complications are often called COVID long-haulers.

What symptoms are patients experiencing?

NBC news surveyed 64 post-COVID clinics throughout the U.S. and found the majority experienced post-COVID symptoms. While there is a wide range of symptoms, some of the most common include:

• Life-altering fatigue
• Ongoing shortness of breath
• Headaches
• Hair loss

How are patients currently being treated?

Currently, there is not a standard treatment of care for PASC. Post-COVID clinics are taking a multidisciplinary approach to treating patients. Each PASC patient receives the appropriate medicine to treat their symptoms and/or receives a referral to a specialist. Moreover, patients are encouraged to follow a healthy lifestyle, which may consist of adequate sleep, a healthy diet, and appropriate exercise.

Due to a lack of research and understanding of PASC, treatments may not be effective. Dr. Carla Sevin, director of the ICU Recovery Center at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, states, “Because COVID-19 is basically a new disease, we know nothing about the natural history or the recovery or the long-term implications.”

What is the NIH doing to learn more about PASC?

Congress has approved $1.15 billion to study long-term symptoms of COVID-19, and NIH scientists want to find answers as soon as possible. Using health records and specimens from patients, NIH will assess the data and initiate appropriate research studies as needed. 

“28 million people in the United States have had Covid,” said NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins. “If even 1 percent of them have chronic, long-term consequences, that’s a whole lot of people. We need to find out everything we can about how to help them.”

*Edwards, E., Dunn, L., Gosk, S., Silverman, J., et al. (2021, Mar. 6). Inside “post-Covid” clinics: How specialized centers are trying to treat long-haulers. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/inside-post-covid-clinics-how-specialized-centers-are-trying-treat-n1258879

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.