LONG COVID TERMS & DEFINITIONS
Long COVID is a patient created term broadly defined as signs, symptoms, and conditions that continue or develop after initial SARS-CoV-2 infection. The signs, symptoms, and conditions are present four weeks or more after the initial phase of infection; may be multisystemic; and may present with a relapsing–remitting pattern and progression or worsen over time, with the possibility of severe and life-threatening events even months or years after infection. Long COVID is not one condition. It represents many potentially overlapping entities, likely with different biological causes and different sets of risk factors and outcomes.
Post-COVID-19 Conditions is equivalent to the lay term Long COVID, and is used to describe the new, returning, or ongoing health problems people can experience four or more weeks after initial infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Post-acute Sequelae of SARS CoV-2 is a term used in the scientific and medical communities that refers to ongoing, relapsing, or new symptoms or other health effects occurring after the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This definition will be revised in an iterative manner based on existing and new data, medical literature, and feedback from the scientific community.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in collaboration with the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response to engage the National Academies of Science Engineering and Medicine in Examining the Working Definition for Long COVID.