COVID-19 can reactivate dormant viruses in the body, which may contribute to severe illness or long-term health effects.

"COVID can wake up a slew of dormant viruses inside you" A study of 1,154 patients found COVID-19 can reactivate dormant viruses, including herpesviruses, even with a healthy immune system. This may help explain why some people develop severe COVID-19 or Long COVID. Source: https://archive.md/DDJy1 Study: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10740-z

COVID can wake up a slew of dormant viruses inside you | Nature https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-02443-2 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-02443-2?utm_id=97760_v0_s00_e0_tv4#ref-CR1 “#COVID19 can wake up an army of dormant viruses hiding inside the body. That’s according to a study of more than 1,000 people hospitalized with the disease that is published today in Nature. The analysis finds that this reactivation of pathogens is linked to especially intense bouts of COVID-19 and to the development of long COVID.”