Long COVID could be caused by the virus lingering in the body: Study

While most people survive and recover from COVID, for some people symptoms can persist for months or years. When symptoms last longer than 12 weeks, the condition is known as long COVID.

Long COVID encompasses up to 200 different symptoms. To determine evidence-based treatments for these symptoms, we need to understand the causes. One factor that may be associated with long COVID is that the virus hasn’t fully cleared from the body after the initial infection.

We know from other viruses that viral fragments can remain in different tissues for months or even years. This could be the case with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID. Here’s what the science says so far.