Leading the Call to Address PASC

The American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPM&R) has undertaken comprehensive efforts to support our call for a national plan to address Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC or Long COVID) and the millions of Americans it is affecting. In addition to our call to action, we are leading a multidisciplinary PASC collaborative to create guidance for patient care. 

Long COVID

Two reports, published on September 25, 2023, by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics, looked at data from the 2022 National Health Interview Survey. They found that, in 2022, 6.9% of adults—equivalent to about 18 million Americans—reported ever having Long COVID while 3.4%—about 8.8 million—said they currently had the condition, according to 2022 U.S. Census estimates.

According to 2021 publications from the Journal of the American Medical Association and supported by current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, ten to thirty percent of individuals who had COVID-19 reported at least one persistent symptom up to six months after the virus left their bodies.

"We must act now to form and implement a national crisis management plan that will help Americans impacted by PASC not only survive COVID-19 but regain their quality of life and return to being active members of their communities."
- Stuart M. Weinstein, MD, FAAPMR, AAPM&R Past President

Past PASC Dashboard

Case data for AAPM&R’s PASC Dashboard pulled from Johns Hopkins University CSSE COVID-19 data. The Johns Hopkins data source was retired on March 10, 2023. Learn more here.