Can children who get COVID-19 experience long-term effects?

Anyone who has had COVID-19 can develop a post-COVID-19 syndrome. New symptoms or conditions that develop after infection with the virus that causes COVID-19 is more often linked to serious COVID-19 illness. But anyone who catches the COVID-19 virus can develop a post-COVID-19 syndrome.

Symptoms often include a high level of tiredness that affects day-to-day life. And some symptoms may get worse after certain activities.

Symptoms may relate to trouble with:

• Breathing.
• Trouble with thinking.
• Fast heartbeat.
• Sleep problems
• Digestive issues.
• Pain in the joints or muscles.

Depending on their age, children may have trouble explaining some of these issues, which may be difficult for healthcare teams to diagnose.

These symptoms could affect your child's ability to attend school or do typical activities. If your child has post-COVID-19 symptoms that aren't getting better, talk with your healthcare professional. Working with your child's school, it may be possible to compensate for these symptoms.

Staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccines offers protection against post-COVID-19 syndrome.