Thirty percent still have at least one symptom two to four months after a confirmed Covid infection, and after four to six months it is 23 percent. This is evident from the Great Corona Study of the University of Antwerp. And it is mainly the young people who suffer from it.
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Even after healing, many people still suffer from corona. In recent months, this has also been asked about in the Great Corona Study. An analysis of those surveys shows that 23 percent of the participants indicate that they still have symptoms four to six months later.
Although the survey only reaches a part of the population, according to researcher Koen Pepermans it is representative. “We see the same in the literature and in other studies. In California and Great Britain, where they also research it, they already pointed to that 20 percent. Which means we can conclude that it is also representative of the population here, ”explains Pepermans.
Younger than 65 years old
It is also striking that these permanent symptoms are mainly noticed in people under the age of 65. “Those people have not necessarily been sicker, but we still see permanent symptoms in that large group. As a result, it remains important, as the WHO stated earlier, to continue to focus on the ‘long covid’ story. ”
General fatigue was most often indicated in the list of signs and symptoms. Many people notice a lack of energy. In second place are concentration disorders and in third and fourth place are shortness of breath and headache. “Muscle pain and permanent loss of smell were also often clicked.”
Permanent
According to virologist Marc Van Ranst, the phenomenon is not new. He emphasizes that it is also something that we see with other viruses. “We also see this with the Epstein-Barr virus, where you still have to deal with post viral fatigue for a few months later. And we also know from flu infections that it can take months before you really regain 100 percent of your assets, ”he says.
Yet virologist Steven Van Gucht emphasizes that there is a clear difference from a normal flu. “It seems to be more common than with the flu and that may indicate that something specific is going on. It makes us suspect that it could be a trigger for chronic fatigue, the cause of which we still don’t know, ”he says.
According to the virologists, the symptoms will gradually improve in most people, but in some those symptoms may also be permanent. How long people can continue to suffer from symptoms after a corona infection is not yet clear. Since the studies on symptoms after an infection started later – sometime before the summer – there are no results on the effect of covid over a period longer than six months. “But it would be said in medical circles that the vaccination could help with the symptoms. Several doctors have already reported that patients who had symptoms reported feeling better after the vaccine, ”said Van Gucht.
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