This section is one of four studies on Covid in the UK published on healthtalk.org.

Covid-19 is an infectious disease caused by a virus known as SARS-CoV-2. Although Covid-19 is the official name of the viral infection, we use the ‘Covid’ throughout for purposes of readability.

Covid can affect anyone, including children. In spring and summer 2020, reports began to appear in the media about people who were experiencing much longer lasting symptoms after catching Covid. People of all ages have been affected by persistent symptoms. We use the term ‘Long Covid’ for these experiences, although other terms are sometimes used.

Living with Long Covid can have a big impact on family life. It has created challenges for children and young people affected by Long Covid, parents caring for them, and for parents themselves affected by Long Covid.

In this section, you can hear directly from people who have had a wide range of debilitating and sometimes confusing symptoms and the people who have helped to care for them. These are people who know how Long Covid affects day-to-day life. Here they talk about things they have found difficult and some of the things that have helped. This includes:

• Young people talking about their experiences of Long Covid
• Parents with Long Covid talking about how the condition affects family life
• Parents of young people living with Long Covid

You can also learn about the specific experiences of adults living with Long Covid.

The Family Experiences of Long Covid site is based on 73 interviews from across the UK, conducted in 2021 with children, young people and parents who have been affected by Long Covid. We reviewed what everyone said and then wrote about each topic in 22 sections, which are listed in the sidebar. Each of these topics include clips chosen from the interviews so that you can hear directly from the people we talked to.

This section is one of four studies on Covid in the UK published on healthtalk.org.

Covid-19 is an infectious disease caused by a virus known as SARS-CoV-2. Although Covid-19 is the official name of the viral infection, we use the ‘Covid’ throughout for purposes of readability.

Covid can affect anyone, including children. In spring and summer 2020, reports began to appear in the media about people who were experiencing much longer lasting symptoms after catching Covid. People of all ages have been affected by persistent symptoms. We use the term ‘Long Covid’ for these experiences, although other terms are sometimes used.