This article was last updated on April 18, 2024

Most people with COVID-19 feel better within a few days or weeks of their first symptoms and make a full recovery within 12 weeks.

However, there are lots of symptoms you can have after a COVID-19 infection, including:

• loss of smell
• chest pain or tightness
• difficulty sleeping (insomnia)
• pins and needles
• depression and anxiety
• tinnitus, earaches
• feeling sick, diarrhoea, stomach aches, loss of appetite
• cough, headaches, sore throat, changes to sense of smell or taste
• rashes

Some people who have been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 can experience long-term effects from their infection, known as Long COVID or Post-COVID Conditions (PCC). Long COVID is broadly defined as signs, symptoms, and conditions that continue or develop after acute COVID-19 infection. This definition of Long COVID was developed by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in collaboration with CDC and other partners. Some of the symptoms of Long Covid include:

• Fatigue
• Shortness of breath
• Brain Fog, i.e. problems with your memory and concentration
• Joint and muscle pain
• Headaches
• Loss of smell and taste
• Heart and cardiovascular issues

People with Long COVID can have a wide range of symptoms. For some people, Long COVID can last weeks, months, or years after COVID-19 illness and can sometimes result in disability.

Long COVID may not affect everyone the same way. People with Long COVID may experience health problems from different types and combinations of symptoms that may emerge, persist, resolve, and reemerge over different lengths of time. Though most patients’ symptoms slowly improve with time, speaking with your healthcare provider about the symptoms you are experiencing after having COVID-19 could help determine if you might have Long COVID.

Researchers are working to understand which people or groups of people are more likely to have Long COVID, and why. Studies have shown that some groups of people may be affected more by Long COVID. These are examples and not a comprehensive list of people or groups who might be more at risk than other groups for developing Long COVID:

• People who have experienced more severe COVID-19 illness, especially those who were hospitalized or needed intensive care.
• People who had underlying health conditions prior to COVID-19.
• People who did not get a COVID-19 vaccine.

CDC and other federal agencies, as well as academic institutions and research organizations, are working to learn more about the short- and long-term health effects associated with COVID-19, who gets them and why.

Source: CDC