How long can I expect a COVID-19 illness to last?

It depends. Most coronavirus patients have mild to moderate illness and recover quickly. Older and sick patients tend to take longer to recover. That includes those who are obese or have high blood pressure and other chronic diseases.

The World Health Organization says that recovery usually takes two to six weeks. A US study found that about 20% of non-hospitalized people between the ages of 18 and 34 still had symptoms at least two weeks after getting sick. The same happened with almost half of the people 50 years and older.

Among those who were sick enough to be hospitalized, a study in Italy found that 87% continued to experience symptoms two months after becoming ill. Persistent symptoms included fatigue and shortness of breath.

Chicago lung specialist Dr. Khalilah Gates said many of her hospitalized COVID-19 patients still have bouts of coughing, breathing difficulties and fatigue three to four months after infection.

He said it is difficult to predict exactly when COVID-19 patients will feel good again.

“The unsettling part of all this is that we don’t have all the answers,” said Gates, an assistant professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

It is also difficult to predict which patients will develop complications after the initial disease subsides.

COVID-19 can affect almost all organs, and long-term complications can include heart inflammation, decreased kidney function, fuzzy thinking, anxiety, and depression.

It’s unclear whether the virus itself or the inflammation it can cause leads to these persistent problems, said Dr. Jay Varkey, an infectious disease specialist at Emory University.

“Once the acute illness is overcome, it is not necessarily over,” he said.