Fatigue and shortness of breath still afflict many patients a year after their hospitalisation for Covid-19, Reuters quotes a new Chinese study calling for a better understanding of the pandemic's long-term health effects.

Around half of patients discharged from hospital for Covid still suffer from at least one persistent symptom — most often fatigue or muscle weakness — after 12 months, said the study published in British medical journal The Lancet.

“The study shows that for many patients, full recovery from Covid-19 will take more than one year.”

The research, the largest yet on the condition known as “long Covid”, added that one in three patients still have shortness of breath a year after their diagnosis.