How Long does COVID Last? What to Expect?

How long does COVID last – The United States has been struggling with the worst time in history as the virus that originated in China 2 1/2 years ago is still raging like never before. There is no doubt that we are still struggling with the blow caused by the coronavirus.

Despite the huge number of efforts performed by the federal government of the United States along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the virus is not stopping. 

Yes, you can get yourself vaccinated against the virus without any cost as the Centers for Disease Control and prevention is sponsoring free vaccines for every eligible American throughout the nation.

But, the big issue and topic of the debate are how long does COVID last? Because a lot of people are concerned regarding the long-term effects of the virus. The market of rumors is very hot in the United States as we are seeing people talking untrue things about the virus and vaccine at the same time. 

One thing is sure The recovery time or the treatment time is going to be different in every person depending on their symptoms and body response. 

 It has already been proven that every variant of COVID-19 after omicron is not as deadly as it was before. We are not seeing people getting hospitalized after infection as they are not developing more than mild symptoms. 

As compared to previous variants, the mortality rate and hospitalization rate are also on the lower side, even though these variants are highly infectious.

Asymptomatic COVID patients

Let’s divide our topic into a few segments, which will give you more clarity about what we are talking about. Health experts and scientists use the asymptomatic term when they diagnose someone with COVID-19, but they do not have any symptoms at all.

It is possible that you might have got infected with COVID-19 but did not develop any symptoms at all in the past.

Being asymptomatic is not a bad thing, but it is very dangerous for people who are at higher risk of severe illness due to infection. An asymptomatic person might not develop any symptoms, and they recover successfully from COVID-19, but that person can be the worst carrier of the virus.

As you’re already aware, asymptomatic people do not develop any symptoms, so it is impossible to count the recovery time. 

It is also possible that an asymptomatic person might also develop long COVID symptoms as the body gives up against the virus, but the chances of long COVID with the person who did not develop any symptoms during the infection are on the lowest side. 

COVID patient with mild symptoms

The second category of COVID patients is the people with mild symptoms. If you get infected with the virus, and you develop common symptoms like fever, fatigue, sore throat, and cough, and you successfully made a recovery without hospitalization, it means you were developing only mild symptoms.

Most of the people who are getting infected with the virus and making a full recovery within a few days are patients with mild symptoms. And data point around 70% of people who get infected with the virus develop only mild symptoms.

People infected with the COVID-19 and mild symptoms do require Some medication and recovery time which is usually around two to three weeks. It takes around 7 to 8 days for COVID-19 to develop its symptoms.

People who have mild symptoms of COVID-19 have more chances of developing long COVID than the asymptomatic ones. 

If you ever get diagnosed with the COVID-19, then you should Keep an eye on all of your symptoms. There is a high probability that some of these common symptoms might develop once again after a few months and stay for a longer period of time.

On the official website of the Centers for Disease Control and prevention, it is clearly mentioned that there is a probability of getting long COVID which might include general symptoms like tiredness and fatigue.

COVID patient with severe symptoms  

One of the most vulnerable categories to receive long COVID are the patients with severe symptoms of COVID-19.

If you ever get diagnosed with COVID-19 and you have severe symptoms, then you are in the highest possible category. 

Even if you make a successful recovery from the infection of COVID-19, there is a high probability that you might experience long COVID symptoms in the future. The damage caused by severe symptoms of COVID-19 might take even a year to recover.

Lungs are the most vulnerable body parts which get affected during severe symptoms of COVID infection. Sometimes the damage stays for a longer period of time, and it might take months To recover.

The recovery time with the severe symptoms of COVID will depend on the person affected with the same. Usually, it takes at least 6 to 20 weeks to recover from the severe symptoms of COVID-19. At the same time, the full recovery might take a year.

As per the official website of the Centers for Disease Control and prevention, the long COVID symptoms in persons affected with severe symptoms of COVID-19 might take years to recover. 

Long COVID symptoms and recovery

In the guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and prevention, it is clearly mentioned that you might experience post COVID symptoms after making a full recovery.

Usually, these symptoms start after four weeks of full recovery, And anyone infected with COVID-19 might develop long COVID or post COVID conditions. At the same time, people who have severe symptoms of COVID and 19 are the most vulnerable to also getting long COVID or post COVID conditions.

Kindly remember there is no specific test that can diagnose post-COVID conditions. At the same time, there is no specific list of symptoms or physical conditions which are directly related to long COVID.

Symptoms

Let’s start with the general symptoms of the post covered. Most people who get diagnosed with the long COVID symptoms are going to have general symptoms.

If you are experiencing tiredness or fatigue, why are you doing your day-to-day activity? You might be experiencing post-COVID symptoms. There is a high probability that the tiredness and fatigue caused by the infection of COVID might not go away completely even after months of making a full recovery.

At the same time, post-COVID or long COVID might also trigger your previous physical condition. Apart from that, you might also experience fever. Usually, these symptoms come back again and again till you make a complete recovery from long COVID.

The lung damage caused by severe COVID symptoms might not go away even after months of making a full recovery. The Centers for Disease Control and prevention have mentioned respiratory and heart symptoms in the long list of long COVID symptoms.

You might experience difficulty breathing and shortness of breath during post COVID symptoms. At the same time, you might also experience chest pain and fast beating.

Diarrhea and stomach pain might stay for a longer period of time during post COVID symptoms. 

Recovery from post-COVID

Before we wrap this session, let’s take a look at the recovery from post-COVID. The recovery from post COVID depends on several things. 

First of all, your vaccination status is going to impact the whole situation. There is always going to be a huge difference between people who get vaccinated and those who opt not to. 

In several studies, it has already been proven that vaccines for COVID can provide benefits in the longer run, such as post-COVID. It might not be able to completely protect you from getting infected, but the community boost caused by the COVID vaccine is going to help you in faster recovery from the infection and post COVID symptoms.

Apart from that, if you are asymptomatic and you have been vaccinated, then the recovery time from post-COVID will be the lowest.

The complete opposite is that if you are not vaccinated, and you develop severe symptoms of COVID-19, then it might take months to recover from post COVID symptoms.

In several cases, we have seen that COVID triggered previous health conditions. If you ever get infected with coronavirus, then you should consult post COVID symptoms with your doctor. You might require extra care and recovery time.

Takeaways

How long does COVID last? It totally depends on your body condition. If you were diagnosed with COVID-19 and you are asymptomatic, then you might recover from post COVID symptoms faster than anyone else.

At the same time, people who got some weird symptoms of COVID-19 might take a longer period of time to recover from post COVID symptoms. 

Apart from all that, your vaccination status is also going to impact your post COVID condition. In several studies, it has already been proven that people who receive vaccines were able to make a faster recovery from a post COVID situation than anyone else.