Up to 60,000 people in the UK may have been suffering from “long COVID” for more than three months, unable to get the care they need to recover from prolonged and debilitating symptoms. The Guardian reports that this is according to Tim Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London who runs the app-based COVID symptom study, who said around 300,000 people had reported symptoms lasting for more than a month.
A minority have been suffering for longer; up to 60,000 people have reported having symptoms for more than three months. Some cases are mild, but others are seriously debilitating, with breathlessness and fatigue. Some people have had to use wheelchairs. Others say attempting to carry out everyday tasks such as shopping or even climbing the stairs can leave them bedridden for days.
The report says UK health secretary, Matt Hancock, has accepted that some people are still experiencing symptoms as long as six months after contracting the virus. “Long COVID, where people six months on are still ill, is prevalent among younger people,” he said.
Paul Garner, a professor at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, has had long COVID since 19 March. He said some patients were not being believed by healthcare professionals because they had not been tested. “I think the proof is in the symptoms and the stage that we’re at in the epidemic,” he said. “The tests are, in a sense, getting in the way of people receiving good care.”
A spokesperson for NHS England is quoted in The Guardian as saying: “At the same time as treating more than 108,000 coronavirus patients and keeping other vital services running throughout the pandemic, the NHS has played a leading role in patient recovery and scientific discovery, which is saving lives here and around the world.
“While experts globally continue work to understand more about the short- and long-term impact of this new disease, NHS teams are rapidly expanding aftercare and support to all patients who need it, including new and strengthened rehab centres and community services providing tailored treatment in every part of the country, such as the first-of-its-kind Seacole Centre and a new online health advice and support platform, which patients said they wanted to help them recover at home.”
[link url="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/sep/08/60000-may-have-long-covid-for-more-than-three-months-uk-study"]Full report in The Guardian[/link]