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Even as the search for a medical cure for COVID-19 remains elusive, experts are increasingly worried about its long-term ramifications on the health of those who have recovered from the infection. Dr. Tinku Joseph, Intrventional Pulmonologist, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi, said that the permanent damage to the lung tissue and pulmonary blood clots can occur in patients whose respiratory systems had deteriorated during the infection, necessitating ICU ventilator support. “When pneumonia progresses to become acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), it may lead to a lot of complications for the patient even after recovery. Long-term breathing difficulty can occur. Pulmonary fibrosis, which is a lung disease that occurs when lung tissue becomes damaged, and pulmonary embolism, a condition in which one or more arteries in the lungs are blocked by blood clots, can occur. However, for persons who had developed viral pneumonia during the SARS-CoV-2 infection and got cured, not many complications may happen later,” he says.