COVID-19 pandemic

=== Prognosis ===
{{Further|COVID-19#Prognosis| Long COVID}}
The severity of COVID-19 varies. It may take a mild course with few or no symptoms, resembling other common upper respiratory diseases such as the [[common cold]]. In 3–4% of cases (7.4% for those over age 65) symptoms are severe enough to cause hospitalization.<ref name="pmid33087398">{{#invoke:cite journal || vauthors = Doshi P | title = Will covid-19 vaccines save lives? Current trials aren't designed to tell us | journal = BMJ | volume = 371 | pages = m4037 | date = October 2020 | pmid = 33087398 | doi = 10.1136/bmj.m4037 | s2cid = 224817161 }}</ref> Mild cases typically recover within two weeks, while those with severe or critical diseases may take three to six weeks to recover. Among those who have died, the time from symptom onset to death has ranged from two to eight weeks. Prolonged [[prothrombin]] time and elevated [[C-reactive protein]] levels on admission to the hospital are associated with severe course of COVID-19 and with a transfer to [[intensive care unit]]s (ICU).<ref>{{#invoke:cite journal ||last1=Baranovskii |first1=DS |last2=Klabukov |first2=ID |last3=Krasilnikova |first3=OA |last4=Nikogosov |first4=DA |last5=Polekhina |first5=NV |last6=Baranovskaia |first6=DR |last7=Laberko |first7=LA |title=Prolonged prothrombin time as an early prognostic indicator of severe acute respiratory distress syndrome in patients with COVID-19 related pneumonia. |journal=Current Medical Research and Opinion |date=January 2021 |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=21–25 |doi=10.1080/03007995.2020.1853510 |pmid=33210948 |pmc=7738209 }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:cite journal || vauthors = Christensen B, Favaloro EJ, Lippi G, Van Cott EM | title = Hematology Laboratory Abnormalities in Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) | journal = Seminars in Thrombosis and Hemostasis | volume = 46 | issue = 7 | pages = 845–849 | date = October 2020 | pmid = 32877961 | pmc = 7645834 | doi = 10.1055/s-0040-1715458 }}</ref>

Between 5% and 50% of COVID-19 patients experience [[long COVID]],<ref>{{#invoke:cite journal ||vauthors=Ledford H |date=June 2022 |title=How common is long COVID? Why studies give different answers |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01702-2 |url-status=live |journal=Nature |volume=606 |issue=7916 |pages=852–853 |bibcode=2022Natur.606..852L |doi=10.1038/d41586-022-01702-2 |pmid=35725828 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008182108/https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01702-2 |archive-date=8 October 2022 |access-date=13 August 2022 |s2cid=249887289}}</ref> a condition characterized by long-term [[sequela|consequences]] persisting after the typical convalescence period of the disease.<ref>{{#invoke:cite web||date=11 February 2020|title=Post-COVID Conditions|url=https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/long-term-effects.html|access-date=12 July 2021|website=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:cite journal ||date=12 May 2022 |title=Researching long COVID: addressing a new global health challenge |url=https://evidence.nihr.ac.uk/themedreview/researching-long-covid-addressing-a-new-global-health-challenge/ |journal=NIHR Evidence |doi=10.3310/nihrevidence_50331 |s2cid=249942230}}</ref> The most commonly reported clinical presentations are [[fatigue]] and memory problems, as well as [[malaise]], headaches, [[shortness of breath]], loss of smell, [[muscle weakness]], low fever and [[cognitive dysfunction]].<ref name="ref1">{{#invoke:cite journal ||title=Clinical characteristics of COVID-19 |website=www.ecdc.europa.eu |date=10 June 2020 |url=https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/covid-19/latest-evidence/clinical |access-date=26 May 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:cite journal ||last=Leviner |first=Sherry |date=7 May 2021 |title=Recognizing the Clinical Sequelae of COVID-19 in Adults: COVID-19 Long-Haulers |journal=The Journal for Nurse Practitioners |volume=17 |issue=8 |pages=946–949 |doi=10.1016/j.nurpra.2021.05.003 |issn=1555-4155 |pmc=8103144 |pmid=33976591}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:cite news ||title=Nearly half of people infected with COVID-19 experienced some 'long COVID' symptoms, study finds |work=[[University of Michigan]] |url=https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-04-people-infected-covid-experienced-covid.html |access-date=15 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:cite journal ||last1=Chen |first1=Chen |last2=Haupert |first2=Spencer R. |last3=Zimmermann |first3=Lauren |last4=Shi |first4=Xu |last5=Fritsche |first5=Lars G. |last6=Mukherjee |first6=Bhramar |date=16 April 2022 |title=Global Prevalence of Post COVID-19 Condition or Long COVID: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review |journal=The Journal of Infectious Diseases |volume=226 |issue=9 |pages=1593–1607 |doi=10.1093/infdis/jiac136 |pmc=9047189 |pmid=35429399}}</ref>