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

Anthony FauciAnthony FauciOvernight Health Care: COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers promise massive increase in supply | Biden’s health nominee faces first Senate test | The White House advocates reopening a facility for migrant children. New Yorkers should make a double mask by at least June, de Blasio says Fauci: CDC’s relaxed orientation to fully vaccinated people may arrive ‘soon’ MORE, the country’s leading infectious disease specialist, announced on Wednesday that recently released data suggest that the long-term symptoms associated with COVID-19 can last for almost nine months after infection.

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

The researchers referred to the symptoms as post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), which can often develop some time after the initial infection and can range from mild to “disabling,” said Fauci.

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

He also noted that people who did not need to be hospitalized as a result of contracting COVID-19 or who had symptoms not associated with the infection also reported PASC.

The first studies on the long-term effects of COVID-19 in people who may have even experienced mild cases showed harmful 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 the “long COVID” in an effort to identify its causes and possible treatments.