How common is Long COVID?

Using computer simulations based on real-world data from 1.2m people with symptomatic COVID-19 from 22 countries, international scientists, including an Australian, say around 6.2% of people with COVID-19 are likely to experience at least one of the three Long COVID symptom clusters three months after infection.

The three clusters are persistent fatigue with bodily pain or mood swings, cognitive problems, or ongoing respiratory problems.

Women were more likely to have Long COVID than men, the researchers say, as were patients who ended up in hospital, particularly if intensive care was required.

On average, Long COVID symptoms persisted for nine months in hospitalised patients and four months in non-hospitalised patients, although 15.1% of patients continued to experience symptoms 12 months after infection.