One in three Australian COVID-19 patients is still battling symptoms eight months after being infected, and youth is no protection against the debilitating effects of ‘Long COVID’.
The landmark ADAPT study shows 32 per cent of 81 COVID-19 patients diagnosed at St Vincent’s Hospital’s testing clinics reported still feeling ill 240 days post-infection.
Derek Young, 55, is still feeling the effects of COVID-19 one year after he was infected with the virus. Credit:Nick Moir
An alarming one in five (19 per cent) still met the criteria for debilitating ‘Long COVID’ at the eight-month mark, experiencing fatigue, laboured breathing or tightness in their chest long after their infection had passed, the researchers at St Vincent’s and the Kirby Institute found.
One in three Australian COVID-19 patients still has symptoms eight months after being infected, and neither age nor a mild bout of the virus is protective, a world-first Australian study suggests.
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