Long COVID Is A Mystery. Here's How Scientists Are Trying To Crack It

What Causes Long COVID Is A Mystery. Here's How Scientists Are Trying To Crack It It's not clear why some people who get COVID-19 are plagued with symptoms for many months after being infected, but scientists are investigating what's behind these "long haul" cases. NPR.org

A year and a half into the pandemic, doctors are getting better at recognizing long COVID — the collection of persistent health problems that some people develop after a coronavirus infection — but research has yet to pinpoint what could be driving the illness.

"Most likely it's more than just one condition," said Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, which is pouring $470 million into a national study on long COVID. "The really troubling aspects of this terrible pandemic might be the lingering of this long-tail effect on people."

Long COVID is a kind of shape-shifting illness that can span dozens of symptoms — a large international study identified more than 200 of them. Some of the most common include headaches, fatigue, brain fog, and shortness of breath. It can happen after severe and mild infections, in both old and young people.

Anywhere from 10% to 30% of people who get infected with the coronavirus will have persistent symptoms lasting at least one month, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many with long COVID continue to deal with symptoms for many months, even more than a year after the initial infection. ...