Can't afford to ignore long-term Covid symptoms, warn experts

Even as the number of Covid infections sees an upward trend in the country, a global study has suggested that apart from tracking new infections, there is also a need to address long-term Covid symptoms.

According to the pre-print of the global survey, conducted by researchers from across the world, 144.7 million people suffer from long-term Covid symptoms such as fatigue, cognitive problems and respiratory problems.

The study showed that across India over 11 million incidents of long Covid were reported in 2020 alone. The numbers could be up to 27.9 million for 2021.

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Of the 144.1 million, fatigue could be observed in 51%, cognitive problems in 35.4%, and respiratory problems in 60.4%.

Also, 38.4% of them experienced multiple problems.

The findings show that 15.1% of those who suffered from long Covid had not completely recovered even after a year of being infected.

The study suggested that there was a need to establish rehabilitative care and support, to help those suffering from long Covid to transition back to the workplace or education.

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Speaking to DH, Dr Giridhar Babu, epidemiologist and member of Karnataka State Covid technical advisory committee, said there was a need to sensitise people and doctors on long Covid.

“Assuming that a majority of our population could be infected, there is a need to track people who could be suffering from long Covid and sensitise both people and doctors to handle the situation better. Long Covid has to be considered seriously,” he said.

He said there was a need to implement better workplace policies.

“Workplaces should implement better sickness benefits to support those suffering from long Covid,” he said.

The study also showed that long Covid prevalence was high among females at 63.2% and the peak age was set between 20 and 29 years.