COVID survivors, particularly those who were hospitalized and required ventilator or heart-lung bypass machine support, may suffer lasting lung damage.

The New York Times analyzed C.T. scans of the lungs of three patients who were hospitalized during the early waves of the pandemic and spoke to their doctors to better understand the long-term impact of COVID on the lungs.

The resulting 3D visualizations show the damage that can linger years after infection and irrevocably alter everyday life. Effects vary by how healthy people were before infection and how their immune systems responded to the virus.

While all three patients saw gradual improvement, none have returned to the normal range of 80% of total lung capacity.

Doctors say that COVID’s impact can be unpredictable, and they worry about those who struggle with COVID’s lasting effects.

View the interactive article at The New York Times.