Around 18 million people—6.9 percent of Americans—reported they’ve had long COVID, according to two new reports based on federal data. The reports, out Tuesday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, examined data from the 2022 National Health Interview Survey. Of the 18 million people who reported they had long COVID in 2022, one million were children, the reports found. Twice as many women than men reported currently having long COVID , the NCHS study found, and adults between ages 35 and 49 were the most likely to have had long COVID at some point or currently. Around 8.8 million of the respondents said they still have have the condition, which occurs when patients continue to have symptoms for four or more weeks after they’ve cleared a COVID infection. Long COVID symptoms can vary, but include fatigue, difficulty breathing, cough, headaches, stomach pain and depression, according to the CDC.
