John Elflein
Research expert covering health and health care
Long COVID in the U.S. - Statistics & Facts
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided, the virus continues to circulate around the world, and it is estimated that between 10 and 20 percent of people infected will develop longer term symptoms that may be diagnosed as Long COVID. Long COVID describes the long-term effects and symptoms that some people infected with COVID-19 experience after their initial infection. Long COVID is referred to by many different names, including Post-COVID Conditions, long-haul COVID, chronic COVID, and post-acute COVID-19, and definitions for what constitutes Long COVID vary by country and institution. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) define Long COVID as signs, symptoms, and conditions present for at least three months after COVID-19 infection, with these symptoms sometimes being multisystemic and relapsing with a possibility for severe and life-threatening events months or years after infection. It is still unclear why some people develop Long COVID, but it is thought that people who experienced a more severe COVID-19 illness, people with an underlying health condition before infection, and those who did not get a COVID-19 vaccine are more likely to suffer from Long COVID. Symptoms of Long COVID may last weeks, months, or even years and may include, but are not limited to, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, loss of smell, shortness of breath, and headache.
Prevalence of Long COVID in the United States
Because there is no test for Long COVID, it is difficult to determine how many people are affected by the condition. However, recent surveys from the United States show that around 18 percent of the total population may have had Long COVID as of September 2024, with around 30 percent of those who had been infected with COVID-19 experiencing long-term symptoms from the disease. Long COVID is more common among women in the United States than men and those aged 40 to 59 years who had been infected with COVID-19 were more likely to report ever experiencing Long COVID than other age groups. The states with the highest share of people who previously had COVID-19, with symptoms lasting three months or longer are Oklahoma, Mississippi, and North Dakota. In Mississippi, up to 39 percent of those who had COVID-19 reported suffering from Long COVID. It is estimated that over 38 million people in the United States have or continue to have symptoms of Long COVID.Deaths caused by Long COVID
Although the possibility of death due to Long COVID is much lower than during the initial phase of infection, Long COVID does contribute to death. Recent research has shown that those who suffer from Long COVID are more likely to experience cardiovascular events such as stroke and heart failure or develop pulmonary conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and moderate or severe asthma than those who have never had COVID-19. However, Long COVID accounted for less than one percent of total deaths from COVID-19 every month during the first two years of the pandemic except for one. Furthermore, the estimated death rate due to Long COVID is substantially lower than that of COVID-19. For example, from July 2021 to June 2022, the death rate from COVID-19 among men was about 1,312 per million population, while the rate of death due to Long COVID was just 7.3 per million population. The death rate of Long COVID increases with age but is still significantly lower than the COVID-19 death rate for every age group. Nonetheless, Long COVID is thought to have a substantial economic impact in the United States with one study estimating the condition could cost the country almost 2.2 trillion U.S. dollars in reduced quality of life and a further 528 billion dollars in increased medical spending.
