Why COVID-19 is still a concern
COVID-19 is an illness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus that can lead to potentially serious complications.
Symptoms of COVID-19 Illness
People report a wide range of COVID-19 symptoms, spanning from mild to severe
Symptoms of COVID-19 may appear 2 to 14 days after exposure to the virus and can include:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Congestion or runny nose
Risk Factors for Severe COVID-19
COVID-19 continues to pose health risks to individuals of all ages and backgrounds. Some people with certain medical condition(s) or risk factors are at an increased risk of getting very sick from COVID-19.
According to the CDC, this means that a person with 1 or more of these conditions who gets very sick from COVID-19 (has severe illness from COVID-19) is more likely to:
- Be hospitalized
- Need intensive care
- Require a ventilator to help them breathe
- Die
- Ajufo E, Rao S, Navar AM, Pandey A, Ayers CR, Khera A. U.S. population at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Am J Prev Cardiol. 2021;6:100156. Published correction appears in Am J Prev Cardiol. 2021;6:100195.
~75% of American adults have at least 1 risk factor for getting very sick from COVID-19.1
According to the CDC, a person’s risk of severe illness from COVID-19 increases as the number of risk factors they have increases. Medical condition(s) or risk factors include:
- Cancer
- Cerebrovascular disease
- Chronic kidney disease including people receiving dialysis
- Chronic liver disease including cirrhosis, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, alcohol‑related liver disease, and autoimmune hepatitis
- Chronic lung diseases including asthma (moderate to severe), bronchiectasis (thickening of the lungs’ airways), bronchopulmonary dysplasia (chronic lung disease affecting newborns), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD; including emphysema and chronic bronchitis), damaged or scarred lung tissue (interstitial lung disease including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis), pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lungs), pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure in the lungs)
- Cystic fibrosis
- Dementia or Parkinson's disease
- Diabetes (type 1, type 2, or gestational)
- Disabilities including Down syndrome
- Heart conditions including heart failure, coronary artery disease, and cardiomyopathies
- Hemoglobin blood disorders
- HIV (human immunodeficiency virus)
- Immunocompromised condition or weakened immune system
- Mental health conditions including depression and schizophrenia spectrum disorders
- Overweight and obesity
- Physical inactivity
- Pregnancy or recent pregnancy
- Smoking, current or former
- Solid-organ or blood stem-cell transplantation
- Substance use disorders
- Tuberculosis
- Use of corticosteroids or other immunosuppressive medications
This isn’t a complete list of risk factors and is not in any order of severity.
Visit CDC.gov to learn more about conditions that increase your likelihood of becoming very sick with COVID-19.
Factors Affecting Health Equity
See more from the CDC regarding:
COVID-19 information and resources for people with disabilities
Long COVID
Some people who have been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 can experience long-term effects from their infection, known as Long COVID.
Long COVID is a serious illness that can result in chronic conditions requiring long-term care. Symptoms and conditions can emerge, persist, resolve, and reemerge over weeks and months.
Long COVID may last weeks, months, or years after a COVID-19 infection and can include a wide range of symptoms*:
General symptoms
- Fever
- Tiredness
- Fatigue
- Symptoms that get worse after physical or mental effort
Respiratory and heart symptoms
- Difficulty breathing
- Shortness of breath
- Cough
- Chest pain
- Fast-beating or pounding heart
Neurological symptoms
- Difficulty thinking or concentrating
- Headache
- Sleep problems
- Lightheadedness
- Pins-and-needles feeling
Digestive symptoms
- Diarrhea
- Stomach pain
According to the CDC, although Long COVID occurs more often in people who had severe COVID-19 illness, anyone who has been infected or reinfected with the virus that causes COVID-19 can experience it, including children.
Each time a person is infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, they have a risk of developing Long COVID.
Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children and Adults
Multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS) is a rare but serious condition associated with COVID-19 in which different internal and external body parts become inflamed, including the following:
- Heart
- Lungs
- Kidneys
- Brain
- Skin
- Eyes
- Gastrointestinal tract
MIS can affect children (MIS-C) and adults (MIS-A).†
†MIS-C case definition includes people who are younger than 21 years old, and MIS-A case definition includes people who are 21 years and older.
Visit CDC.gov to learn more about MIS-C and MIS-A signs and symptoms, and when to seek emergency care.
Preventing COVID‑19
Talk to your healthcare provider about steps you can take to help protect yourself and your child against COVID‑19.
The CDC recommends that all people use the following core prevention strategies to protect themselves and others from COVID-19:
Tips for preventing COVID-19
- Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines
- Although vaccinated people sometimes get infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, staying up to date on COVID-19 vaccines significantly lowers the risk of getting very sick, being hospitalized, or dying from COVID-19
- Practice good hygiene (practices that improve cleanliness)
- Take steps for cleaner air
Tips for when you are sick
- Use precautions to prevent spread, including staying home and away from others (including people you live with who are not sick), if you have respiratory symptoms
- Seek healthcare promptly for testing and/or treatment if you have risk factors for severe illness. Treatment may help lower your risk of severe illness, but it needs to be started within a few days of when your symptoms begin
Visit CDC.gov to learn more about COVID-19 prevention strategies.
Talk to your healthcare provider about steps you can take to help protect yourself against COVID-19.
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