What is COVID pneumonia?
COVID pneumonia is an infection in your lungs caused by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. You can get pneumonia as a complication of being sick with COVID-19. As your immune system attacks the infection in your lungs, they get inflamed and fill with fluid, making it hard to breathe.
What is bilateral interstitial pneumonia seen in coronavirus disease (COVID-19)?
The type of pneumonia associated with COVID-19 is almost always in both lungs at the same time (bilateral). Interstitial tissue is what surrounds your lung’s air sacs, blood vessels and airways. Interstitial lung disease causes scarring or other lung damage. Bilateral interstitial pneumonia in COVID-19 is lung damage on both sides as a result of COVID-19-related pneumonia. This usually happens after the initial (infectious) phase, often in people who have long COVID (post-acute sequelae of SARS CoV-2, or PASC).
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How does COVID-19 affect your lungs?
COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2. The virus infects your airways and damages your lungs. To fight off the infection, your immune system causes inflammation, which can also cause damage and allow fluid to leak into the small air sacs of your lungs. This is called pneumonia.
Can you get pneumonia when infected with COVID-19?
Yes, you can get pneumonia when infected with COVID-19. The virus that causes COVID-19 can infect your lungs, causing pneumonia. Sometimes you can also get infected with a bacteria that causes pneumonia while your immune system is weakened (this is called a superinfection). If you’re on a ventilator to help you breathe while you’re sick with COVID-19, you’re at higher risk for ventilator-associated pneumonia.
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Are COVID pneumonia and COVID-19 different illnesses?
COVID-19 and COVID pneumonia are best described as different stages of the same illness. COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and COVID pneumonia is a complication of COVID-19 that causes inflammation and fluid in your lungs.
What’s the difference between COVID pneumonia and other pneumonias?
All pneumonias cause inflammation and fluid in your lungs. But research suggests that the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID pneumonia moves differently through your lungs than other viruses and bacteria that cause pneumonia.
COVID pneumonia spreads across your lungs slowly, using your own immune system to spread, which means it tends to last longer and cause damage in more places. Other pneumonias cause acute disease — symptoms come on all at once — but don’t last as long.
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Who is most at risk for getting COVID pneumonia?
You’re at an increased risk of getting very sick with COVID-19, including COVID pneumonia, if you:
- Are over 65.
- Are pregnant.
- Smoke or used to smoke.
- Have received an organ or blood stem cell transplant.
You're also at an increased risk if you’re living with:
- A blood disorder such as sickle cell disease or thalassemia.
- Cancer.
- Cerebrovascular disease, such as stroke.
- Chronic kidney or liver disease, including hepatitis, cirrhosis and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
- Chronic lung disease, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary embolism and others.
- Cystic fibrosis.
- Dementia, Alzheimer’s disease or other neurological conditions.
- Diabetes (Type 1 or Type 2).
- Cerebral palsy, Down syndrome or other congenital conditions.
- A heart condition such as heart failure, coronary artery disease or high blood pressure (hypertension).
- HIV/AIDS or a compromised (weakened) immune system.
- A mental health condition such as depression or schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
- Obesity.
- Substance use disorders (such as alcohol, opioid or cocaine use disorder).
- Tuberculosis.
How many people with COVID-19 will get pneumonia?
About 15% of people with COVID-19 develop serious complications, including COVID pneumonia. Worldwide, that means more than 77 million people to date have had severe cases of COVID-19.
