Dr Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks at a White House press briefing held by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki in the White House’s James Brady Press Briefing Room on January 21, 2021. Washington, DC.
Alex Wong | Getty Images
New data suggest that people with Covid-19 may suffer from symptoms up to nine months after the initial infection, Dr. Anthony Fauci, medical adviser to the White House, said Wednesday.
Researchers at the University of Washington recently found that 30% of patients reported symptoms for as long as nine months, Fauci told reporters during a White House newsletter on Covid-19. People reported fatigue, shortness of breath, sleep disturbances and other symptoms that lasted for months, he said.
Symptoms of ‘long Covid’, which researchers now call Post-Acute Sequelae or Covid-19, or PASC, can develop ‘well after’ infection, and the severity can range from mild to ‘inappropriate’, says Fauci, also the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
“The extent of the problem is not fully known,” he said, adding that PASC was also reported in people who did not need hospitalization and people who had symptoms that were not part of their initial infection.
The update comes as global medical experts better diagnose and treat people with persistent Covid-19 symptoms.
So far, there have been a limited number of studies distinguishing what the most common long-covid symptoms are or how long they can last. Most focus was on people with a serious or fatal illness, not those who recovered but still had persistent side effects, sometimes called ‘long-term carriers’.
The National Institutes of Health has launched an initiative to study Covid at length and identify the causes and potential treatments for individuals, Fauci said. “What makes some people vulnerable while others recover quickly and have no consequences?” he asked.
CNBC’s Noah Higgins-Dunn contributed to this report.