According to the CDC,3 most people with a COVID-19 infection get better in a few days to a few weeks after infection. At least four weeks after the infection, long COVID conditions could potentially be identified. Long COVID conditions can include many ongoing health problems that can last weeks, months, or years.
Long COVID is found more often in people who had severe COVID-19 illness, but anyone who has been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus can experience long COVID conditions, even those who had only mild illness or no symptoms from COVID-19. People who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 and become infected may have a higher risk of developing long COVID compared to vaccinated people who had a breakthrough infection. Most people with long COVID have laboratory assay documentation of COVID infection or have experienced COVID-like illness. However, in some cases, a person with long COVID conditions may not have tested positive for COVID or even know they were infected if they were asymptomatic. Currently, there is no specific test for long COVID.
