As of now, there has been a reported of 151.8 million COVID-19 cases in the world. About 3.2 million people have died due to COVID-19 since the first case on November 17, 2019. Some people could and have recovered quickly, others have not. Typically it takes about a few weeks to months for people to recover. The unfortunate thing is that some people will experience effects from COVID-19 for the rest of their lives.

The virus has been said to have done damage to people’s organs. Imaging tests taken months after recovering have shown lasting damage to the heart muscle. This can increase the risk of heart failure or other heart problems in the future. The type of pneumonia often people have gotten because of COVID-19 can cause long-standing damage to the tiny air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs. The resulting scar tissue can lead to long-term breathing problems. It can also cause strokes, seizures and Guillain-Barre syndrome (a condition that causes temporary paralysis). COVID-19 possibly can increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease as well.

The Effects

According to the CDC, these are symptoms that linger after recovering from the virus that can last for weeks or months, potentially years or life as well:

• Tiredness or fatigue
• Difficulty thinking or concentrating (brain fog)
• Headache
• Loss of smell or taste
• Dizziness on standing
• Fast-beating or pounding heart (heart palpitations)
• Chest pain
• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Cough
• Joint or muscle pain
• Depression or anxiety
• Fever
• Symptoms that get worse after physical or mental activities

It is a bit more common that people with previous health conditions will most likely be the ones who experience the lingering symptoms. Experts have no idea why that’s the case with some people. They also don’t know how to fix the post-COVID-19 conditions but are currently working on that.