Health Topic

Post-COVID Conditions (Long COVID)

Anyone who had COVID-19 can have ongoing symptoms. Learn about post-COVID conditions (long COVID), including symptoms, diagnosis, treatments, and prevention.

Reviewed Reviewed by a registered pharmacistGeneral information

Also called: Chronic COVID · Long-haul COVID · Long-term effects of COVID

Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

About Post-COVID Conditions (Long COVID)

COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) is an illness caused by a virus. Many people get better within a few days or weeks after being infected with the virus. But others have post-COVID conditions. They may:

  • Have symptoms that linger for weeks, months, or even years
  • Seem to recover from COVID-19 but then see their symptoms return
  • Develop new symptoms or new health conditions within a few months of having COVID-19

There are several other names for post-COVID conditions. It is often called long COVID. But it can also be called long-haul COVID, long-term effects of COVID, chronic COVID, post-acute COVID-19, and post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC).

Anyone who had COVID-19, whether it was severe or mild, can have long-lasting symptoms. But you are at higher risk of post-COVID conditions if you:

  • Had severe COVID-19 illness, especially if you were hospitalized or needed intensive care.
  • Had underlying health conditions before you got COVID-19.
  • Did not get a COVID-19 vaccine.
  • Had multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS) during or after COVID-19. MIS is a rare but serious condition in which different body parts become inflamed.

Post-COVID conditions do not affect everyone the same way. They can cause various types and combinations of symptoms in different people. The symptoms may affect different parts of the body, for example:

  • General symptoms, such as fatigue and fever
  • Respiratory symptoms, such as trouble breathing and cough
  • Heart symptoms, such as chest pain and palpitations
  • Neurologic symptoms such as trouble thinking and concentrating ("brain fog"), headaches, and sleep problems
  • Digestive symptoms such as diarrhea and stomach pain

Some people may have a wide variety of symptoms that are similar to those of other conditions, such as myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).

Most people's symptoms slowly improve over time. But for some people, the symptoms can last weeks, months, or longer. Sometimes the symptoms are severe enough to result in disability.

There is no specific test for post-COVID conditions. To find out if you have a post-COVID condition, your provider:

  • Will ask about your medical history. This includes asking if you have had a diagnosis of COVID-19, either based on a positive test, symptoms, or exposure.
  • Will do a physical exam.
  • May order blood and imaging tests.

Some of the symptoms of post-COVID conditions may be hard to explain. The results of blood and imaging tests may be normal. And people who have unexplained symptoms may sometimes be misunderstood by their providers. So it can take some time to get a diagnosis.

There is no specific treatment for post-COVID conditions yet. You and your provider can work together to create a personal care plan to manage your symptoms and improve your quality of life.

The best way to prevent post-COVID conditions is to avoid getting COVID-19. Staying up to date with vaccines (including boosters) against COVID-19 can help prevent COVID-19 infection and protect against severe illness.

It sits within Infections.

When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.

Research on Post-COVID Conditions (Long COVID)

507 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.

What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.

Research currently under way

Research already completed

Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.

Where to read more

Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.

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Related Issues

Statistics and Research

Clinical Trials

Medical subject headings

Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome, COVID-19. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.

This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Post-COVID Conditions (Long COVID), a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.