long COVID

noun

variants or less commonly long COVID-19 or long-haul COVID or long-haul COVID-19

: a condition that is marked by the presence of symptoms (such as fatigue, cough, shortness of breath, headache, or brain fog) which persist for an extended period of time (such as weeks or months) following a person's initial recovery from COVID-19 infection : post-covid syndrome

The sickest COVID-19 patients are not the only ones to suffer from long COVID. Patients who had a milder initial case that didn't result in hospitalization can also have persistent symptoms.

—Stephanie LaVergne

Because of the growing number of long COVID patients, more hospitals are creating outpatient clinics with multiple specialists or expanding centers that initially focused only on patients leaving intensive care units.

—Meredith Cohn

Ceresa is one of a growing number of COVID-19 survivors with serious symptoms that last far beyond the acute infection with the virus. Some of these patients, often referred to as 'long-haulers' or people with long COVID-19 … are receiving treatment at … clinics like the one at Mount Sinai.

—Kevin Loria

… long-haul COVID-19 refers to the ongoing adverse health effects of coronavirus infection, which can last for weeks, and even months, after the initial phase of their illness has passed.

—Eve Glazier and Elizabeth Ko

Examples of long COVID in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Still, not all infections are mild, and even mild cases can lead to long COVID, according to the authors of the first study. —Ars Technica, 24 Feb. 2025

Why Some People Develop Long COVID Research has not yet been able to pinpoint why some people develop long COVID and others don’t. —Korin Miller, Verywell Health, 13 Jan. 2025

Health experts started paying more attention to ME/CFS when millions of people developed long COVID. —Katie Camero, SELF, 17 Dec. 2024

There are however, specific populations who are more likely to develop long COVID than others, according to the CDC. —Diana Leyva, The Tennessean, 17 Dec. 2024

The American Medical Association’s top journal, JAMA, in August published a key new study and editorial about pediatric long COVID. —Blake Murdoch, Scientific American, 18 Oct. 2024

Research has also found that patients with long COVID tend to have lower cortisol levels and lower testosterone levels. —Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 3 Feb. 2025

In people 55 and older, women were 34 percent more likely to get long COVID. —Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 28 Jan. 2025

Almost 18 million Americans are living with long COVID. —Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

2020, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

long COVID

noun

variants also long COVID-19

: a condition that is marked by the presence of symptoms which persist for an extended period of time following a person's initial recovery from COVID-19 infection

Medical Definition

long COVID

noun

variants also long COVID-19 or long-haul COVID or long-haul COVID-19

: a condition that is marked by the presence of symptoms (such as fatigue, cough, shortness of breath, headache, or brain fog) which persist for an extended period of time (such as weeks or months) following a person's initial recovery from COVID-19 infection : post-covid syndrome

… there's no clear way to diagnose long COVID and no standard treatment protocol. Some long haulers feel better after a couple of weeks following the initial infection, but then fall ill to old or even new disease-related symptoms that may affect multiple organs and systems weeks or months later. For others … their symptoms never fully abate after the initial infection; they just linger.

—Melba Newsome, Charlotte (North Carolina) Observer

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is set to release interim guidance for physicians treating patients with long COVID-19 …

—Congressional Quarterly News

… long-haul COVID-19 refers to the ongoing adverse health effects of coronavirus infection, which can last for weeks, and even months, after the initial phase of their illness has passed.

—Eve Glazier and Elizabeth Ko, Chicago Daily Herald

Long-haul COVID patients tend to exhibit the kinds of symptoms about which disability case reviewers have historically been skeptical, if not downright hostile. These include chronic fatigue, nonspecific body and nerve pain, headaches and persistent confusion known as "brain fog."

—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times