COVID-19 can have a lot of long-term effects. It’s not clear whether chronic fatigue syndrome is one of them.

The C-D-C is looking at possible connections between COVID and chronic fatigue. I-U School of Medicine associate dean Fen-Lei Chang cautions not to jump to conclusions. He says even if they’re connected, the fatigue could be an indirect result of stress and anxiety, or could mean the infection’s not completely gone.

Chang notes the symptoms of chronic fatigue are complex, and vary from patient to patient. He says pinpointing the cause can make a difference in treatment. Some patients may just need blood pressure medication.

Other aftereffects of COVID are better documented, from lingering “brain fog” to loss of taste and smell.