Nearly 1 in 5 American adults who had COVID still have long-haul symptoms, data shows

Nearly 1 in 5 American adults who have had COVID-19 are still suffering from long-haul symptoms, according to new data collected by the Census Bureau and Center for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.

The data, collected from June 1 to June 13, 2022, showed that more than 40% of adults in the United States reported having been infected with COVID-19 in the past, with 19% reporting that they are currently still experiencing symptoms of "long COVID."

Overall, approximately 1 in 13 adults in the U.S. -- or 7.5% -- have long COVID-19 symptoms, which the groups define as symptoms that were not experienced by individuals prior to their COVID-19 infection, and these symptoms have lasted three or more months after first contracting the virus.

The new data showed that older Americans are less likely to suffer from long COVID-19, as compared to younger adults. Nearly three times as many individuals, in the 50-59 category, currently have long COVID, as compared to their counterparts, who are 80 years and older.

Women were also more likely than men to have long COVID-19, with 9.4% of women currently reporting long-haul symptoms, as compared to 5.5% of men.

Nearly 9% of Hispanic adults reported that they currently have long COVID, a percentage that is higher than non-Hispanic white (7.5%), Black (6.8%) and non-Hispanic Asian adults (3.7%).

Bisexual adults and transgender adults were also found to be more likely to suffer long COVID-19 symptoms as compared to adults of other sexual orientations and gender identities. An estimated 15% of transgender adults were reported to have long COVID-19 symptoms, compared to 5% of cisgender male adults and 9% of cisgender female adults.

Further explanation as to why some groups may have had higher rates of long COVID-19 was not specified.

Kentucky (12.7%), Alabama (12.1%), Tennessee and South Dakota (11.6%) were found to have the highest percentage of adults who currently have long COVID-19 symptoms.