### What is Long COVID? Long COVID refers to the health problems you may have long-term after recovering from COVID-19. You may also hear long COVID called long-haul COVID, post-COVID conditions (PCC), or post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC). Long COVID symptoms can linger for weeks, months, or even years. Nearly 1 in 5 people who've had COVID-19 have symptoms a month or longer after the infection. Among people who needed hospitalization, the stats go up to more than 30%. ### Who Can Get Long COVID? Long COVID can happen to anyone, whether you’re otherwise healthy or have other health conditions. You can get it even if your earlier COVID-19 symptoms were mild or moderate. The good news is most people recover from long COVID. ### Common Symptoms Long COVID seems to affect each person in a different way. You might notice a wide range of health problems that could linger for a long time. Most people’s symptoms improve slowly. Common symptoms include: - Fatigue - Shortness of breath - Joint pain - Brain fog ### Diagnosis and Treatment There's no official long COVID test. Diagnosing long COVID is more a case of ruling out other causes of your health issues. To do that, your doctor may run other tests. Treatment depends on the symptoms you have. Generally, lifestyle changes or medications may help. Talk with your doctor about what might work best for you. ### Prevention The best way to avoid long COVID is to limit the spread of COVID-19 infection and get vaccinated as soon as you can. The CDC recommends that everyone 6 months and older get the COVID-19 vaccine and everyone get boosters when they are eligible. ### Mental Health Living with symptoms like brain fog, breathlessness, or chest and joint pain on a daily basis can take a toll on mental health, too. Mental health therapy may help people with long COVID symptoms manage uncertainty and anxiety and better navigate the recovery process. ### Conclusion Long COVID may last weeks, months, sometimes years after you get COVID-19. There is no one test for it, and the symptoms vary a lot, depending on the person. There is also not one treatment. But rest, exercise (when possible), writing down things as needed, and stress management may help. Most people eventually recover from long COVID.