Long Covid Symptoms Are More Diverse Than Feared

At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, when we knew precious little about the virus, the standard message was most people recover from mild infections in two weeks and serious ones in three.

- Dr Miriam Stoppard

This is clearly not true. NHS England has estimated nearly half of hospital patients need ongoing support.

Their symptoms vary so much over a huge range of intensity and duration that many people feel they’re not being believed and are not getting the support they need.

A team of researchers and doctors have reported long Covid doesn’t easily fit into a single syndrome. They describe at least three: post-intensive care syndrome, post-viral fatigue syndrome and long-term Covid syndrome, which each have their own set of symptoms.

For people still suffering symptoms beyond three weeks, the common denominator is profound fatigue.