A majority of older children and teenagers with long Covid recover within two years, according to new research from University College London (UCL).
Researchers there looked at the symptoms of hundreds of children aged 11 to 17 years old after they tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.
The children were interviewed three months, six months, 12 months and 24 months after taking a PCR test between Sept. 2020 and March 2021.
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Of the patients who met the definition of long Covid, about 70% were considered “recovered” two years after they first tested positive.
The study also found that boys were twice as likely to recover from long Covid. Researchers also said that older teenagers and “the most deprived” were less likely to have recovered.
Lead researcher in the study, Professor Sir Terence Stephenson, said, “Our findings show that for teenagers who fulfilled our research definition of long Covid three months after a positive test for the Covid virus, the majority have recovered after two years. This is good news but we intend to do further research to try to better understand why 68 teenagers had not recovered.”
The experts said it’s the world’s largest study to date on the effects of long COVID in children.
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