How Long does Covid Last – The debate around COVID-19 was once again ignited in the United States after president Joe Biden tested positive for the virus. Even though health experts have already declared that the United States is suffering from the 6th wave of COVID-19, a lot of people are not taking it too seriously.

After the White House announced that Joe Biden had tested positive for COVID-19, the general public started talking about the virus, and they also started getting vaccinated. 

People have once again started talking about the effectiveness of vaccines and how to ensure safety from the virus. Joe Biden has already received two primary doses and two booster shots of the COVID vaccine, and he still tested positive for the virus.

There is only one thing that can help you From the virus, and that is the right knowledge. That is why today we are here to discuss how long does COVID last?

Pre symptoms – 3-5 days

Similar to global conditions, the virus originated in China has also changed a lot since the very first day. There is a concept called the incubation period, and it is constantly changing with the new variants of COVID-19. 

There is a concept called incubation period, which means the time between you getting exposed to a virus and developing symptoms related to that specific virus. Whenever you get exposed to a virus, it doesn’t mean that you will start developing symptoms right away. There will be some time between you getting exposed and developing symptoms, and that time is the cold incubation period.

The original variant of COVID-19 had around 10 to 14 days of incubation period, and nowadays, it has been reduced to five to 10 days. 

The current dominating variant in the United States is named BA4 and BA5. Both are the sub-variants of omicron, and they are highly infectious as compared to any other variant of COVID-19. 

In just a few months, they have surpassed every other dominating variant in the United States, and they are still raging at rapid speed. 

The Centers for Disease Control and prevention have also lowered the incubation period, as you can clearly see in their guidelines related to isolation and quarantine. In case you get exposed to the virus, you are supposed to quarantine yourself for five days which clearly indicates the latest theories regarding the incubation period of sub-variants of homegrown. 

Duration of symptoms – 5-10 days 

Now comes the second part of the infection of COVID-19. Once you have started developing symptoms related to COVID-19, there is a probability that you will get better within 5 to 10 days, depending on the severity of the infection.

The time period of five to 10 days is not going to be stable forever. It can change with the variant you get infected with or any other future variant along with your own immune system.

If we take a look at the quarantine and isolation guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and prevention, then you will find that the CDC has also lowered the duration of symptoms from 14 days to all the way 5 to 10 days. 

The original variant of COVID-19 took around two to three weeks to get better, but nowadays, people are getting better within 5 to 10 days. The time period is specifically for the currently dominating variant of COVID-19 in the United States. 

Most people get better within 5 to 10 days, but there is a probability that you might develop severe symptoms and you have to get hospitalized for professional treatment of the virus.

You should not solely rely on these studies as your immune system is also going to play a huge role in your getting better from COVID-19. People with better immune systems have higher chances of getting better within five days, and there is also a probability that you might not even develop any symptoms whatsoever.

Post-infection precautions – 5 days

Many people do not realize that they are infectious even if they have recovered from the virus. It is very hard to tell how long you stay infectious even if you have successfully recovered from the virus, but there is a slight possibility, and you should take full precautions.

These precautions will help you ensure the safety of your friends and family, along with the most vulnerable people to develop severe symptoms from the virus.

If you take a deep look at the isolation and quarantine guidelines released by the Centers for Disease Control and prevention, you will see that CDC asks you to end your isolation or quarantine after five days, but you should follow COVID precautions till the 10th day you start developing symptoms.

It clearly means that you should be taking full precautions Even after five days of your successful recovery from the virus. There is a possibility that you might not even develop any symptoms whatsoever related to the virus, and you infect others who are most vulnerable. 

Final words

The whole COVID timeline has been getting shorter with each new variant of COVID-19. The whole timeline of COVID 9 is around six weeks with the original variant of the virus, which has now been reduced to three weeks at maximum.

The incubation period of COVID-19, along with the timeline of symptoms, has drastically gone down with the latest variants of COVID-19. Currently, the United States is dominated by sub-variants of omicron. Both variants are highly infectious, but they do not impose much risk of developing severe symptoms of the virus. At the same time, there is also a probability that most people might not even develop any symptoms or mild symptoms of the virus.