Poorly defined and understood, the far-reaching impact of long COVID is emerging as the next battleground of the COVID-19 pandemic. More than a year o

Long COVID: Unpicking the lasting impact of COVID-19

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2021-08-08 15:30:07

Poorly defined and understood, the far-reaching impact of long COVID is emerging as the next battleground of the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than a year on from the beginning of the pandemic, the success of the first generation of vaccines is weakening the link between COVID-19 infections and deaths.

But researchers at Imperial and elsewhere are now turning their focus on the lasting effects of the virus, which may linger for months and even years. 

For many who have long recovered from the initial infection, COVID-19 has had lasting, life-changing impacts on their health, affecting their ability to resume normal life and even their ability to work. The emerging pattern of the condition, called long COVID, features a list of symptoms: from fatigue, breathlessness and brain fog, to aching joints and depression.

Scientists describe working in ‘uncharted territory’ as they race to define a condition that may affect many millions of people around the world, drastically reducing their quality of life and increasing the burden on healthcare systems.

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