One Year After COVID-19 Infection, Half Suffer from 'Aftereffects'

On the morning of the 13th, medical staff performed intubation on a patient in the COVID-19 severe ward at the National Health Insurance Ilsan Hospital in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, a dedicated COVID-19 base hospital in northern Gyeonggi Province.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] It has been found that even after recovering from COVID-19 infection, about half of the patients complain of aftereffects up to one year later.

The National Institute of Infectious Diseases under the Korea National Institute of Health disclosed the "Interim Results of the COVID-19 Aftereffects Study" on the 27th. Kwon Jun-wook, Director of the Korea National Institute of Health (Deputy Head of the Central Disease Control Headquarters), stated, "As a result of an online survey conducted by Kyungpook National University targeting COVID-19 confirmed patients in the Daegu area, it was found that 127 out of 241 people, corresponding to 52.7%, continued to experience various aftereffects even 12 months after confirmation."

The main symptoms of the aftereffects were decreased concentration (22.4%), reduced cognitive function (21.5%), memory loss (19.9%), depression (17.2%), and fatigue (16.2%).

Director Kwon added, "Similar aftereffect patterns such as decreased concentration and fatigue have been reported overseas in countries like the UK and Germany one year after symptom onset, similar to those in Korea," and "Considering aftereffects and complications, we ask the public to actively participate in vaccination to prevent COVID-19."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.