Newsweek It’s been more than five years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, although millions of Americans, including children, are still affected by it today.
More than one million Americans died due to the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), while many were floored by the infection for weeks or even months.
Others developed long COVID, which is recognized as a collection of symptoms that last three months or longer after initial COVID symptoms appear.
This can affect many systems in the body and result in a wide range of health complications and symptoms. A study by Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) last year found that up to 5.8 million American children now have long COVID.
The authors wrote that this means between 10 to 20 percent of children who tested positive with COVID-19 went on to develop the condition.
Their findings suggest that long COVID may have surpassed asthma—which around 5 million youngsters have—as the most common chronic condition experienced by American children.