How it works: Anyone who had COVID-19 could develop long-term symptoms, even if the initial illness was mild, according to the HHS.
- People can experience symptoms of long COVID months after first being infected with the virus.
- Symptoms include fatigue, brain fog, difficulty breathing, heart palpitations, chest pain, loss of taste or smell and joint or muscle pain.
What they're saying: "Many Americans who seemingly recover from the virus still face lingering challenges, like breathing problems, brain fog, chronic pain and fatigue," Biden said.
- "These conditions can sometimes rise to the level of a disability. So, we're bringing agencies together to make sure Americans with long COVID, who have a disability, have access to the rights and resources that are due under the disability act," the president added.
The big picture: A study last month from FAIR Health found that about 23% of COVID-19 patients have developed at least one "persistent or new" medical condition more than four weeks after their initial diagnosis.
- The American Medical Association's House of Delegates, the top physician's group in the U.S., last month called for policies to better diagnose and treat long-haul COVID-19, and endorsed guidelines for guiding any future vaccine mandates and credentials.
Go deeper:NIH to study long COVID in kids
