Slow Immune Response, Delayed Viral Clearance, Viral Rebound Can Increase Long COVID Risk, Study Finds

Healio (3/20, Feller) reports a study found that a “slow immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection, delayed viral clearance, and viral rebound can all increase a person’s risk for long COVID.” Participants in the study “who experienced viral rebound had a 13-fold higher risk for long COVID than those who did not.” Researchers concluded, “We found that slower viral clearance during acute infection is associated with subsequent long COVID, and is stronger in people with more long COVID symptoms. This is especially true in women, but not men, and it is strongest with certain long COVID symptoms,” as is “experiencing viral rebound during acute infection.” Data from the study were presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections.