CDC: 1 in 5 Americans report 'long COVID' symptoms after COVID-19 infection

June 22 (UPI) -- Nearly one in five Americans who have had COVID-19 have also developed persistent symptoms known as "long COVID," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.

Data from the Household Pulse Survey, a partnership between the CDC, the Census Bureau and other federal agencies, showed that more than 40% of adults in the United States have had COVID-19 and 19% of those have reported still having symptoms of long COVID.

Long COVID has been defined as "symptoms lasting three or more months after first contracting the virus and that they didn't have prior to their COVID-19 infection."

The data showed that overall one in 13 adults, or 7.5%, have long COVID symptoms, with older adults less likely to experience the symptoms as nearly three times as many adults aged 50-59 currently have long COVID compared to those 80 and older.

Additionally, 9.4% of women currently have long COVID symptoms compared to 5.5% of men.

Bisexual adults and transgender adults are also more likely to have long COVID symptoms compared to adults of other sexual orientations or gender identities, as 12% of bisexual adults compared to 7% of straight and gay and lesbian adults.

An estimated 15% of transgender adults have long COVID compared to 5% of cis-gender males and 9% of cis-gender females.

Nearly 9% of Hispanic adults have long COVID compared to 7.5% of non-Hispanic White adults and 6.8% of non-Hispanic Black adults and more than twice the percentage of non-Hispanic Asian adults at 3.7%.

Kentucky had the highest percentage of adults with long COVID at 12.7%, followed by Alabama 12.1%, Tennessee and South Dakota at 11.6%.