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

Anthony FauciAnthony FauciOvernight Health Care: Vaccine Manufacturers COVID-19 Promise Big Offer | Lower health nominated for first Senate test | The White House is defending the reopening of the facility for migrant children. New Yorkers should double by at least June. De Blasio tells Fauci: Relaxed CDC guidelines for fully vaccinated people may come MORE soon, the country’s leading expert in infectious diseases, announced on Wednesday that newly released data suggest that long-term symptoms associated with COVID-19 may linger nearly nine months after infection.

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

Researchers referred to the symptoms as Post-Acute Sequelae or COVID-19 (PASC), which can often develop some time after the initial infection and can range from mild to ‘inappropriate’, Fauci said.

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

He also noted that people who did not need to be hospitalized due to COVID-19, or who had symptoms unrelated to their infection, also reported PASC.

Early studies of the long-term effects of COVID-19 on people who experienced even mild cases showed adverse 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 its causes and possible treatment.