COVID-19 can cause prolonged illness even in people with mild symptoms, including young adults, according to a new analysis released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Seriously ill people after contracting COVID-19 are known to remain ill for several weeks. But less is known about the effects of the disease in people with milder symptoms who do not require hospitalization.
A CDC survey of nearly 300 people with the coronavirus found that 35 percent had not returned to their “usual health” within two to three weeks after testing positive for the disease.
“These findings indicate that COVID-19 can cause prolonged illness even among people with milder outpatient illnesses, including young adults,” the report authors wrote.
Of the 35 percent of respondents who still experience symptoms, a quarter were between 18 and 34 years old, 32 percent were between 35 and 49 years old, and 47 percent were 50 or older.
Among patients who reported cough, fatigue, or shortness of breath at the time of the test, 43 percent, 35 percent, and 29 percent, respectively, continued to experience these symptoms when interviewed a couple of weeks later, according to the CDC.
Old age and the presence of multiple chronic health conditions were associated with prolonged illness, but young, healthy people could also have symptoms weeks later, according to the report.
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