Abstract
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, it has become clear that infection with SARS-CoV-2 may be responsible for previously unexpected long-term immunological health consequences. The UK’s immunologists have been at the forefront of researching the phenomena that we are seeing and the mechanisms behind them.
This briefing note aims to summarise what we do and don’t currently know about the long-term immunological health consequences of COVID-19 and sets out the key recommendations for future research. An asterisk (*) denotes words that appear in the glossary (annex 2).
Exposure to the disease, COVID-19, causes symptoms in multiple organ systems across the body, and is not limited to only the lungs and respiratory system as was originally thought. In addition, patients are reporting chronic symptoms, such as fatigue and shortness of breath, that last for months after their original infection.
The immune system’s response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus is thought to play a part in the appearance of these symptoms, rather than the virus itself, often through facilitating inflammation. This has the ability not only to exacerbate any secondary conditions the patient already has, but also to cause them, as is the case with other viruses, and these may persist for years.
The full extent of the prevalence of COVID-19 patients who go on to experience longer-term immunological health consequences is not yet fully understood. However, the emerging need for COVID-19 follow-up clinics to treat these chronic symptoms may place an additional burden on the health service.
The briefing note lays out several recommendations to help us understand what SARS-CoV-2 and our immune response to it does to our health over the long term. This includes using large cohort studies over a number of years to follow the health of those have been infected from diverse demographics. This type of longitudinal study is particularly important to aid knowledge on the long-term effects of COVID-19. Failure to seize this opportunity now has the potential to perpetuate chronic ill health in those patients recovering from COVID-19 and to substantially increase the burden on the NHS in the future.
This briefing note aims to summarise what we do and don’t currently know about the long-term immunological health consequences of COVID-19 and sets out the key recommendations for future research. An asterisk (*) denotes words that appear in the glossary (annex 2).
Exposure to the disease, COVID-19, causes symptoms in multiple organ systems across the body, and is not limited to only the lungs and respiratory system as was originally thought. In addition, patients are reporting chronic symptoms, such as fatigue and shortness of breath, that last for months after their original infection.
The immune system’s response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus is thought to play a part in the appearance of these symptoms, rather than the virus itself, often through facilitating inflammation. This has the ability not only to exacerbate any secondary conditions the patient already has, but also to cause them, as is the case with other viruses, and these may persist for years.
The full extent of the prevalence of COVID-19 patients who go on to experience longer-term immunological health consequences is not yet fully understood. However, the emerging need for COVID-19 follow-up clinics to treat these chronic symptoms may place an additional burden on the health service.
The briefing note lays out several recommendations to help us understand what SARS-CoV-2 and our immune response to it does to our health over the long term. This includes using large cohort studies over a number of years to follow the health of those have been infected from diverse demographics. This type of longitudinal study is particularly important to aid knowledge on the long-term effects of COVID-19. Failure to seize this opportunity now has the potential to perpetuate chronic ill health in those patients recovering from COVID-19 and to substantially increase the burden on the NHS in the future.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Type | The British Society for Immunology COVID-19 Expert Taskforce briefing note |
| Media of output | British Society for Immunology website |
| Publisher | British Society for Immunology |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Publication status | Published - 13 Aug 2020 |