New data suggests ‘long COVID’ symptoms last up to 9 months: Fauci

Anthony FauciAnthony Fauci Overnight Health Care: COVID-19 Vaccine Manufacturers Promise Massive Increase in Supply | Biden Health Nominee Faces First Senate Test | The White House defends the reopening of a facility for migrant children. New Yorkers should double mask until at least June, says de Blasio Fauci: Relaxed CDC counseling for fully vaccinated people could be coming ‘soon’, the country’s top infectious disease expert, announced on Wednesday that recently released data suggests that COVID-19 symptoms may persist for nearly nine months after infection in the long term.

Fauci shared the findings of research from the University of Washington during a White House newsletter about the new coronavirus. He stated that nearly 30 percent of patients reported symptoms, including fatigue, sleep disturbances, and shortness of breath that lasted for months.

Researchers have termed the symptoms as post-acute consequences of COVID-19 (PASC), which can often develop some time after the initial infection and range from mild to “disabling,” Fauci said.

“The extent of the problem is not fully known,” said Fauci.

He also noted that people who did not need to be hospitalized as a result of contracting COVID-19 or who had symptoms unrelated to their infection also reported PASC.

Early studies of the long-term effects of COVID-19 on humans who may have experienced even mild cases have shown harmful effects such as decreased lung function and damage to the heart, kidneys and other organs.

Fauci said the National Institutes of Health is beginning to study “long COVID” in an effort to identify the causes and possible treatments.