What is ‘medium COVID’ and is it really a thing? Health experts aren’t convinced.

After two years of living with COVID-19, health experts have learned the disease can come in many forms. People can experience mild COVID-19, asymptomatic COVID-19 or long COVID-19.

Lately, a new term, “medium COVID-19,” has gotten some traction among people whose symptoms last longer than normal, but not long enough to identify as “long haulers.”

Heath experts say it’s normal for people to want a diagnosis for how they feel, but “medium COVID-19” is not a distinct condition. Rather, it’s part of post-sequelae of COVID-19, commonly referred to as long COVID-19, which encompasses a spectrum of timelines and symptoms.

“There’s variability from person to person in terms of how (COVID-19) manifests itself,” said Dr. Noah Greenspan, a specialist in cardiovascular physical therapy who has been treating those suffering from long COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. “That need to classify and the need to put things in a nice, neat little box is not really viable when it comes to COVID.”

“Medium COVID-19” was popularized by an NPR broadcast last month from a reporter who recounted her experiences with the disease. She was young and healthy, but an encounter with the omicron variant left her feeling extremely weak and fatigued weeks after testing negative for the virus.

Although she recovered, experts say she experienced a form of long COVID-19, rather than a unique condition.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines “long COVID-19” as a range of new, returning or ongoing health problems four or more weeks after being infected with the coronavirus.

The World Health Organization defines the condition as occurring within three months from infection with symptoms lasting for at least two months.

Symptoms of long COVID-19 range from shortness of breath and difficulty concentrating to sleep problems.