Long Covid is a variety of symptoms that one may experience after the initial signs of COVID-19 get better. Interestingly, a recent groundbreaking study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases reveals that children who contract Covid-19 for the second time have double the chance of developing long Covid, compared with children who've only had COVID-19 once.
The new study came to light amid the ongoing controversy in the United States regarding the COVID-19 vaccine for children, as the State and Federal Governments are issuing different recommendations about who should get the shots.
Dr. Ravi Jhaveri, Head of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Lurie Children's Hospital and a co-author of the study, said, "There are a lot of children and families that suffer from the various conditions that comprise long COVID. I think people tend to dismiss the omicron and beyond variants as not a big deal, not as bad as the original SARS-CoV-2 variants. While that's largely true in terms of the severity of the respiratory illness, I think we can appreciate that it can still drive whatever processes lead to long COVID symptoms."
The finding showed that researchers examined over 4,65,000 electronic health records of children and adolescents with a first infection episode and over 58,000 with a second infection episode from Jan 1, 2022, to Oct 13, 2023. The result showed that millions of children who were previously exposed to COVID-19 were diagnosed with long Covid but the number skyrocketed with the second infection.
Researchers also found that children with a second infection are at higher risk of developing certain long COVID symptoms. The study states, "Reinfection was associated with a significantly increased risk of an overall Post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) and a range of symptoms and conditions potentially related to PASC (RR range 1 15 3 60), including myocarditis, changes in taste and smell, thrombophlebitis and thromboembolism, heart disease, acute kidney injury, fluid and electrolyte disturbance, generalised pain, arrhythmias, abnormal liver enzymes, chest pain, fatigue and malaise, headache, musculoskeletal pain, abdominal pain, mental ill health, POTS or dysautonomia, cognitive impairment, skin conditions, fever and chills, respiratory signs and symptoms, and cardiovascular signs and symptoms."
Long Covid is a group of symptoms that can last for three months after you experience your first COVID symptoms. Some of the most common symptoms of Long Covid include loss of smell or taste, brain fog, chronic cough, headaches, difficulty sleeping or insomnia, depression, anxiety, chest pain, heart palpitations, and diarrhoea.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, long COVID may affect about 5% to 10% who were exposed to SARS-CoV-2. There are several factors which might contribute to the causes of long COVID, including inflammation, autoimmune disorders, blood clots, viral persistence, reactivation of other viruses and long-term psychological effects of having a serious illness.
Healthcare providers warn that people who are not vaccinated are at a higher risk of developing long Covid, apart from having certain medical conditions like lung disease, obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure.
Long COVID refers to ongoing symptoms that last up-to three months after the initial COVID-19 infection has cleared.
Long COVID symptoms can last a few weeks, several months, or longer than a year in some cases.
Long COVID is not infectious as it results from the body's response to the initial COVID-19 infection.
Anyone who has had COVID-19 can develop long COVID.
