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Return to Usual State of Health

Among the 270 of 274 interviewees with available data on return to usual health,† 175 (65%) reported that they had returned to their usual state of health a median of 7 days (IQR = 5–12 days) from the date of testing (Table 1). Ninety-five (35%) reported that they had not returned to their usual state of health at the time of interview. The proportion who had not returned to their usual state of health differed across age groups: 26% of interviewees aged 18–34 years, 32% aged 35–49 years, and 47% aged ≥50 years reported not having returned to their usual state of health (p = 0.010) within 14–21 days after receiving a positive test result. Presence of chronic conditions also affected return to health rates; among 180 persons with no or one chronic medical condition, 39 with two chronic medical conditions, and 44 with three or more chronic medical conditions, 28%, 46%, and 57%, respectively, reported not having returned to their usual state of health (p = 0.003) within 14–21 days after having a positive test result. Among respondents aged 18–34 years with no chronic medical condition, 19% (nine of 48) reported not having returned to their usual state of health. Adjusting for other factors, age ≥50 versus 18–34 years (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 2.29; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.14–4.58) and reporting three or more versus no chronic medical conditions (aOR = 2.29; 95% CI = 1.07–4.90) were associated with not having returned to usual health (Table 2). Obesity (body mass index ≥30 kg per m2) (aOR 2.31; 95% CI = 1.21–4.42) and reporting a psychiatric condition§ (aOR 2.32; 95% CI = 1.17–4.58) also were associated with more than twofold odds of not returning to the patient’s usual health after adjusting for age, sex, and race/ethnicity.

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Resolution of Symptoms and Duration

Among the 274 symptomatic outpatients, the median number of symptoms was seven of 17 listed in the interview tool (IQR = 5–10), with fatigue (71%), cough (61%), and headache (61%) those most commonly reported (Figure). Among respondents who reported fever and chills on the day of testing, these resolved in 97% and 96% of respondents, respectively. Symptoms least likely to have resolved included cough (not resolved in 43% [71 of 166]) and fatigue (not resolved in 35% [68 of 192]); among 90 who reported shortness of breath at the time of testing, this symptom had not resolved in 26 (29%). The median interval to symptom resolution among those who reported individual symptoms at the time of testing but not at the time of the interview ranged from 4 to 8 days from the test date, with the longest intervals reported for loss of smell (median = 8 days; IQR = 5–10.5 days) and loss of taste (median = 8 days; IQR = 4–10 days). Among respondents who reported returning to their usual state of health, 34% (59 of 175) still reported one or more of the 17 queried COVID-related symptoms at the time of the interview.