Alberta Health Services
Health Information
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a respiratory illness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Most people who get sick with COVID-19 can manage their symptoms at home and get better without special treatment. However, some people can get very sick and need medical attention.
Learn more about COVID-19.
COVID-19 spreads through droplets when a person with the virus breathes, coughs, sneezes, or talks. These droplets can be breathed in or land on your eyes, nose, or mouth. Droplets can also land on objects or surfaces that you touch.
COVID-19 is a respiratory illness that affects the lungs and airways. In some cases, it can cause problems with other organs or other parts of the body. The symptoms are not the same for everyone and could depend on your age and the COVID-19 variant. Symptoms can include:
Learn what to do and how to care for yourself if you have symptoms of a respiratory illness.
Learn about the treatments for COVID-19.
Recovering from COVID-19 is different for everyone, no matter your age, your health before you had COVID-19, or how sick you were with the virus.
Most people feel better in a few weeks. But some people have physical symptoms and mental health concerns that last for weeks or months after they no longer have COVID-19.
Learn more about long COVID and get information to help you recover.
The best thing you can do to protect yourself and your community is to get immunized with a COVID-19 vaccine. It’s the best protection against COVID-19 and the safest and most effective way to protect against getting very sick.
COVID-19 vaccines are very effective at preventing people from getting infected and getting very sick. Everyone in Alberta who is ages 6 months and older is recommended to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
