Table 1 Reports some definitions of long COVID by the most important healthcare organizations
From: Long COVID headache
International society, year | Definition of long COVID |
|---|---|
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2021) | “Wide range of new, returning, or ongoing health problems people can experience four or more weeks after first being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19” |
World Health Organization (WHO, 2021) | “Illness that occurs in people who have a history of probable or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, usually within three months from the onset of COVID-19, with symptoms and effect that last for at least two months, that cannot be explained by an alternative diagnosis” |
National Health Service (NHS, 2021) | “Symptoms lasting weeks or months after the infection has gone” |
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE, 2021) | “Two definitions of postacute COVID-19 are given: (1) ongoing symptomatic COVID-19 for people who still have symptoms between 4 and 12 weeks after the start of acute symptoms; and (2) post-COVID-19 syndrome for people who still have symptoms for more than 12 weeks after the start of acute symptoms.” |