Toronto Expert Says Don't Worry About Long-Term Health Damage From COVID-19 Yet

Like many others, you've probably wondered about the long term effects of COVID-19.

You may have even heard of people who have symptoms weeks, or even months, after testing positive.

Recently, a University of British Columbia study showed that up to 76% of COVID-19 patients report lasting health effects.

However, one expert suggests that Ontarians don't need to worry about this just yet.

Narcity spoke to Dr. Angela Cheung, a senior scientist at Toronto General Hospital Research Institute researching long-term effects on COVID-19 patients.

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I wouldn't say that [the symptoms] you see at three months are permanent, per se.

Dr. Angela Cheung

Cheung compared the lasting effects of to the ones seen in SARS or pneumonia.

"We often see some patchy abnormalities," she said, "from three weeks to six months [after contraction,] and we see minimal or mild fibrotic changes, but they're not really of any clinical significance."

Cheung says that a study done cross-country with a large number of participants would be needed to draw any conclusive evidence.

She admits that lingering symptoms from respiratory illnesses like COVID-19 aren't unusual.

"The reason we do research is not just to understand [COVID-19], but also see if we can find solutions as well, so that we can help people feel better and recover," said Cheung.