Anthony Fauci
Anthony FauciOvernight Health: COVID-19 Vaccine Manufacturers Promise Massive Growth in Supply | Biden health candidate faces first Senate test The White House is defending the reopening of the facility for migrant children. New Yorkers should double mask until at least June, de Blasio says Fauci: Relaxed CDC guide for fully vaccinated people could come “soon” MORE, the nation’s leading expert on infectious diseases, announced on Wednesday that recently released data suggest that long-term symptoms associated with COVID-19 may persist for nearly nine months after infection.
Fauci shared the results of research conducted by the University of Washington during a White House news briefing on the new coronavirus. He said nearly 30 percent of patients reported symptoms, including fatigue, sleep disturbances and difficulty breathing for months.
The researchers referred to 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,” Fauci said.
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“The scale of the problem is not fully known,” Fauci said.
He also noted that people who were not required to be hospitalized as a result of contracting COVID-19 or who had symptoms unrelated to their infection also reported PASC.
Early studies of the long-term effects of COVID-19 on people who may have even mild cases have shown 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 “long COVID” in an effort to identify its causes and possible treatments.