You could have long COVID and not even know it

Today, Bean is struck by how many people still don’t realize that their health issues could be signs of Long COVID. She’s talked to people who insist they’ve fully recovered from COVID-19, but also complain of classic Long COVID symptoms like fatigue and cognitive dysfunction. “People aren’t necessarily connecting the dots,” Bean says.

Experts say that lack of recognition could be causing some Long COVID cases to go undiagnosed. “People are bad at correlation if they’re not thinking about it all the time,” says Hannah Davis, a machine learning expert who is part of the Long COVID Patient-Led Research Collaborative. “When you had COVID…and then two months later you stop being able to drive, you’re not necessarily going to tie it to that.”

Not every health issue is a sign of Long COVID. Thousands of people around the world are diagnosed with COVID-19 every day, and many recover without lingering issues. Others experience health problems following but unrelated to their infections, because all the things that made people sick before the pandemic haven’t gone away.

But Long COVID affects more people than many realize. In the U.S. alone, roughly one in five adults with a known previous case of COVID-19 currently has Long COVID symptoms, according to recent data from the National Center for Health Statistics. Others could be living with the condition without realizing it.