People hospitalized with the flu can develop “long flu,” study says

BOSTON – We’ve heard of long COVID but a new study finds some people may actually develop “long flu.”

Some people with COVID go on to develop long-term and often debilitating symptoms generally referred to as long COVID. Now new research from Washington University School of Medicine and the Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care System finds that people hospitalized with the seasonal flu can also experience prolonged symptoms, though they tend to be less severe.

Another difference is that “long flu” symptoms generally involve the lungs, whereas COVID-19 can attack any organ system including the lungs, heart, brain, and kidneys.

The goal for avoiding “long flu” or long COVID is to prevent severe disease and hospitalization and we have vaccines that can do both. Yet most Americans still haven’t received their annual flu shot or the new COVID-19 vaccine.

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.