Long COVID Syndrome Affects Children's Daily Activities

A COVID-19 rapid testing site for children in Long Beach, California, USA, March 2022. Photo: AFP/TTXVN

The World Health Organization (WHO) says adolescents affected by “long COVID-19” or “post-COVID-19” will have more symptoms of fatigue, changes in sense of smell and anxiety than their healthy peers.

Symptoms often impact daily activities such as changes in eating habits, physical activity, behavior, academic performance, social functioning (interactions with friends, coworkers, family), and developmental milestones.

According to WHO, symptoms may begin after initial recovery from acute COVID-19 or persist after the initial infection. Symptoms may also change or recur over time.

Symptoms in children can begin within 3 months of initial infection and last at least 2 months, and, like adults, include fatigue, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, memory loss, difficulty concentrating or sleeping, persistent cough, chest pain, difficulty speaking, muscle pain, loss of smell or taste, depression or anxiety, and fever.

Australia's Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly says the federal government is developing a strategy to deal with "long COVID-19."

However, he did not provide a timeline for the strategy to be implemented because collecting “long COVID-19” data is complex and challenging due to the lack of a clear definition.

He said the definitions of “long-term COVID-19” that Australia is currently using are the WHO definition and the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) definition, which are more suitable for research purposes because the definition is very broad.

Professor Kelly also predicted another “COVID-19 wave” this year, saying the pandemic would last even as the acute phase gradually eased.

According to VNA