A study published in The Lancet has stated that close to half of the patients hospitalized for COVID-19 experience at least one persistent symptom for up to one year post-infection.

The study was conducted on 1,276 patients from Wuhan, China, and noted that around one in three people continued to have shortness of breath after 12 months. Lung impairment was also found to persist in some patients, particularly among those who had developed the most severe COVID-19 illness. The findings thus indicate that for some patients, recovery may take longer than a year, and this must be considered while planning healthcare service delivery post-pandemic. It was noted that the proportion of patients with at least one symptom after one year declined from 68% at six months to 49% at 12 months… (ET Healthworld – PTI, August 28, 2021)