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Can kids get long COVID?

Health care workers answer questions about the COVID-19 vaccines.

Rhea Boyd, MD, MPH talks about protecting your child from the effects of COVID by getting vaccinated.

So, by now everyone’s probably heard of the term long hauler or long COVID, which refers to patients whose symptoms from COVID don’t go away like most colds, instead those symptoms drag on and become prolonged sometimes for months at a time. We are still learning more about who has long COVID. Why do they have long COVID? What might’ve placed them at risk to have these prolonged symptoms? And what we can do to treat it. But what we know from the reports that we’re hearing from patients across the country is that long COVID also affects kids. And one of the concerning signs or one of the concerning symptoms of long COVID includes memory loss, or what people are calling brain fog, which can also affect kids’ school performance. I’ve seen this in my own practice where this past year kids came in with prolonged symptoms from COVID. They only had initially mild COVID, and it affected their ability to return to school actually and their parents are really concerned. So, the best way to prevent long COVID is to get a COVID vaccine and never get COVID in the first place.

This information is shared for educational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice. The views expressed are those of the featured medical professional and reflect information available to that professional at time of filming. Always consult a health care provider for any personal health decisions. Click here for vaccine FAQs from the CDC.

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