Can kids get ‘long COVID’ after coronavirus infections?

By LINDSEY TANNER
AP Medical Writer

Symptoms that persist, recur or begin a month or more after a COVID-19 infection can affect children and teens as well as adults. Estimates vary on how often these “long COVID” symptoms occur in kids. A recently published U.K. study found that about 4% had COVID-19 symptoms more than a month after getting infected. Fatigue, headaches and loss of smell were among the most common complaints and most were gone by two months. Coughing, chest pain and brain fog also have been seen in affected kids. Long COVID-19 can occur even when initial infections were mild or had no symptoms.