A new study provides a ‘beacon of hope’ for people living with long COVID

Scientists may finally have some good news for people with long COVID Advertisement Updated: 1:18 PM CST Nov 12, 2026 Editorial Standards ⓘ Korin Miller Scientists may finally have some good news for people with long COVID Updated: 1:18 PM CST Nov 12, 2026 Editorial Standards ⓘ Korin Miller A bout of COVID-19 can make you feel lousy — and in some cases, can trigger serious complications — but for some folks, the story isn’t over even after they recover from the initial illness. That’s because they develop long COVID, a chronic condition that can affect nearly every organ of the body. Some people with long COVID struggle with debilitating fatigue or joint and muscle pain, while others deal with changes to their sense of taste and smell. One of the most frustrating parts of the condition is that there’s still so much unknown about it, including how long all those symptoms can persist. Advertisement But research may finally provide some answers: A new study suggests that long COVID doesn’t last forever for most patients — and even presents a possible timeline for recovery. Here’s what doctors want you to know about the findings. Related video above: Maryland experts urge flu shots ahead of flu season start Prevention spoke with Dr. Amesh A. Adalja, an infectious disease expert and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security; Dr. Jennifer Abeles, long COVID researcher and clinical assistant professor of medicine at University at Buffalo’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences; Harrison T. Reeder, lead study author, an instructor in investigation at MGH Biostatistics, and an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School; Dr. Eve Bowers, an assistant professor of clinical medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. What did the study find regarding long COVID recovery? The study, which was published in Annals of Internal Medicine , analyzed data from 1,019 people in the RECOVER-Adult cohort, a nationwide, observational study that tracks people with long COVID. The study followed patients and their symptoms over time, starting 12 months after their initial COVID-19 diagnosis. After analyzing the data, the researchers discovered that 36% of patients had an improvement in symptoms by 24 months after their COVID-19 infection. By three years, 50% of participants had sustained symptom improvement and 56% showed a substantial drop in symptoms, along with a better quality of life. What’s more, at that three-year mark, nearly 27% reached complete remission — meaning, they recovered from long COVID. But the timeline for recovery wasn’t the same across the board; the type of symptoms mattered. “People whose main problem was lost smell or taste did far better than those with symptoms across multiple body systems, fewer than one in five of whom improved,” said Adalja, the infectious disease expert. “These findings underscore both the potential for natural recovery and the urgent need for placebo-controlled therapeutic intervention trials,” the researchers wrote in the study. Overall, “the findings are very encouraging and provide a much-needed beacon of hope for patients living with long COVID,” said Bowers. “They reinforce that recovery is possible, even when symptoms have persisted for a prolonged period,” she adds. Still, she notes that people should be cautious when interpreting the findings. “We need to be careful not to equate improvement with full recovery,” she said. “Many patients continue to experience significant symptoms and functional limitations years after their initial infection.” Bowers said she’s seen patients even five years later who struggle with debilitating fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, exercise intolerance, and autonomic conditions like postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a chronic autonomic nervous system disorder marked by a rapid increase in heart rate when someone moves from lying down or sitting to a standing position. “These symptoms can interfere with their ability to work, care for their families, or carry out everyday activities,” says Bowers. In general, though, the study’s findings echo what doctors see with patients. “In my experience, we do see gradual improvement of symptoms as time goes on,” said Jennifer Abeles, the long COVID researcher. How is long COVID treated right now, and can anything speed up recovery? There is a range of options for patients with long COVID, but no overall protocol to address everything all at once. Adalja said that doctors will often “target the most disruptive symptoms” in an attempt to help patients feel better. Depending on the type of long COVID they have, that may include having a patient pace their activity, undergo smell training, and focus on getting good sleep. It’s also important for patients to be evaluated for conditions like POTS, per Adalja. Nothing has been proven to speed up recovery once someone has long COVID, he said. “The best-tested candidate failed: In a large trial , 15 or 25 days of Paxlovid [an antiviral approved to treat COVID-19 infection] did no better than placebo,” he points out. Some doctors will prescribe low doses of naltrexone, an opioid receptor antagonist, off-label for long COVID. “Small studies without placebo groups suggest it may help fatigue, sleep, and brain fog, but the evidence is weak,” Adalja said. Still, he adds that it’s “reasonable” to talk to your doctor about this possibility to treat your symptoms. Many people can benefit from physical therapy and occupational therapy, according to Abeles. In many cases, gentle movement and gradual progression is the name of the game. “The treatments for long COVID aren’t the same as therapy provided for other illnesses,” she said. “It’s important to provide therapy that is paced in accordance with what the patient can tolerate. To push a patient with long COVID is likely to make their symptoms and disease much worse and set them back.” And if you come across something that promises a quick fix, approach with caution. “Be wary of expensive supplement ‘protocols,’” Adalja said. “Many people improve on their own, which makes useless treatments look effective.” That’s one reason we need more placebo-controlled trials, to tease out which treatment protocols actually hasten recovery—as opposed to patients simply getting better on their own with time, he said. Can you get long COVID twice? That’s unclear. “There is ongoing work looking at the impact of reinfections on long COVID risk,” said Harrison T. Reeder, lead study author, an instructor in investigation at MGH Biostatistics, and an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School. “It is a major concern that reinfections might exacerbate long COVID or that cumulative reinfections may increase [the] risk of developing long COVID.” Still, Reeder notes that scientists just don’t know the answer yet. Adalja agrees that we don’t currently have the data to suggest that people who already have long COVID are especially prone to it after another infection. However, he adds that it’s “plausible” that some people are more susceptible to the complication than others. Abeles said she’s seen patients who have a “recurrence” of long COVID symptoms after they get reinfected, “sometimes at the same level and sometimes much worse,” she said. Is there anything you can do to cut your chances of long COVID in the first place? Some people are at a higher risk of developing long COVID, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Those include: Women Hispanic and Latino people People who have experienced more severe COVID-19 illness, especially those who were hospitalized or needed intensive care People with underlying health conditions People who did not get a COVID-19 vaccine And if you’ve already had long COVID, getting vaccinated might be even more important. “People with long COVID should minimize the severity of future episodes of COVID-19, and staying up