This article was originally published by Healthbeat, a nonprofit newsroom covering public health published by Civic News Company and KFF Health News. Sign up for Your Local Epidemiologist New York and get Dr. Marisa Donnelly’s community public health forecast in your inbox a day early.
Covid-19 is here to stay, and with it come persistent and potentially life-altering symptoms from Covid-19 infections, also known as Long Covid. This is where most concerns lie for the majority of us when encountering Covid-19.
A new report found just how much it has impacted New York City — 80% of New York respondents suffered symptoms for more than one month after infection. How does this figure hold up? And what can we do about it?
Let’s dig in.
What is Long Covid, exactly?
Early in the pandemic, clinicians quickly found that patients with severe infections had lasting and sometimes debilitating symptoms, from brain fog to headaches to being bedridden. Long Covid has since been documented after mild or moderate disease, too. The long-term effects cause a wide range of physical, mental, emotional, and psychological symptoms.
We still don’t fully know the physiological pathways, but hypotheses include continued viral replication, overactive immune response, micro-blood clots, inflammation of blood vessels, or organ damage from initial infection. Tightly controlled studies put the prevalence of Long Covid around 3%-6%.
In 2022, long-term Covid symptoms were common among New Yorkers
Last month, the New York City Department of Health published survey results from 2022 to understand the burden of Long Covid on New Yorkers.
Before we jump into the data, keep this in mind: Measuring Long Covid is really hard. While New York tracks Covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths, Long Covid cases aren’t reportable, and there’s no diagnostic test. Many of the symptoms are common, like fatigue and headache. These results are also coming from a subset of people who chose to respond to a voluntary survey about enduring symptoms, so the findings may not represent the experience of New York City residents overall.
The Covid-19 Experiences Survey asked 2,081 New York City residents about longer-term symptoms following Covid-19 infection. These are the results:
80% reported at least one symptom lasting one month or longer.
Half of respondents reported at least one moderate or severe symptom lasting at least one month.
Fatigue and decreased exercise tolerance were the most common long-lasting symptoms — about half of adults reported these.
Black and Latino communities, women, transgender people, and those living in low-income neighborhoods were more likely to have symptoms lasting more than one month. These communities were hit hardest during the pandemic, and inequities have persisted for Long Covid.
Severe symptoms had big impacts on mental health and activity
Among adults reporting at least one severe long-term symptom, 1 in 3 (33%) had probable depression, much higher than those with mild symptoms (6%) or no symptoms (2%).
These numbers highlight the impact of long-term Covid-19 symptoms in limiting daily activities, which can result in social, economic, and mental health difficulties.
Take this with a grain of salt
While reports like this one are important, and highlight patterns in symptoms and risk factors for those most affected (like fatigue and lower exercise tolerance in New Yorkers), take the 80% metric with a grain of salt:
2022 is very different from 2025 for Covid-19, thanks to immunity from vaccines, infections, or both. As we’ve seen in the United Kingdom, the risk of developing Long Covid is declining over time. Other studies show staying up to date on vaccines lowers risk of Long Covid. (The jury is still out on whether taking Paxlovid — a Covid antiviral — reduces Long Covid.)
The survey focused on symptoms lasting one month or more after a Covid-19 infection — an outdated definition of Long Covid. Today, the official definition of Long Covid is symptoms lasting more than three months.
People with lingering symptoms may have been more likely to participate in a survey like this, so the findings may not represent the wider population.
There is no control group or comparison group among people who weren’t infected. This is especially critical when assessing a broad range of symptoms, like headaches, for which there are other causes.
Regardless of the exact number of cases, some people are still suffering from Long Covid with debilitating symptoms, and the condition should be taken seriously.
New York researchers are enrolling people in studies
Answers and treatments are not coming fast enough for Long Covid patients. But research is ongoing, and many studies are happening in New York:
NYU Langone is enrolling adult patients with Long Covid symptoms in a National Institutes of Health-funded post-Covid registry.
Mount Sinai is enrolling adult patients with fatigue-related Long Covid symptoms in an NIH-funded study to determine the effect of vagus nerve stimulation on Long Covid recovery.Some research shows that dysregulation of the vagus nerve could be responsible for fatigue and worsening symptoms after exercise.
Last year, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene launched a multi-year research study following 10,000 New Yorkers experiencing Long Covid to better inform support services and policy using New York-specific data.
Treatment for Long Covid is getting better in New York
Navigating and getting care for Long Covid can be overwhelming. However, many New York clinics and hospitals are on the leading edge of understanding and treating Long Covid. Here are some resources for getting treatment for Long Covid in New York:
Call New York City’s Long Covid hotline. New Yorkers recovering from Covid-19 or Long Covid can be connected to care by calling 212-COVID19 (212-268-4319).
Find a Long Covid clinic that specializes in treatment:NYC Health + Hospitals has three Covid-19 centers in the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn, offering care for Long Covid. The AfterCare program provides excellent resources for getting support.
NYU Langone Health runs the Post-Covid Care Program, which provides treatment for adults with Long Covid.
Mount Sinai at the Cohen Center for Recovery from Complex Chronic Illness (CoRE) and Center for Post-COVID Care. Reach out to CORE@mountsinai.org to obtain more information.
An Upper East Side location of Mount Sinai is providing targeted Long Covid care for South Bronx and East Harlem residents, neighborhoods that were particularly hard hit during the pandemic.
I also found the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention appointment checklist for Long Covid helpful for patients and providers to get the most out of appointments.
Bottom line
While our understanding of the causes and treatments for Long Covid is slowly evolving, some still struggle with its long-lasting impact. Many New York hospitals are at the forefront of developing better treatments, offering relief and hope to those affected in our city.
Love,
Your Local Epidemiologist
Dr. Marisa Donnelly, a senior epidemiologist with wastewater monitoring company Biobot Analytics, has worked in applied public health for over a decade, specializing in infectious diseases and emerging public health threats. She holds a PhD in epidemiology and has led multiple outbreak investigations, including at the California Department of Public Health and as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Marisa has conducted research in Peru, focusing on dengue and Zika viruses and the mosquitoes that spread them. She is Healthbeat’s contributing epidemiologist for New York in partnership with Your Local Epidemiologist, a Healthbeat supporter. She lives in New York City. Marisa can be reached at mdonnelly@healthbeat.org.
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