Health – Long Covid affects many

The Covid-19 pandemic is not over, and unfortunately for many people their personal Covid-19 is not over either. Long Covid is blighting the lives of thousands of New Zealanders.

Studies have found that 10 to 20 percent of people who contract the virus go on to develop Long Covid, which means their symptoms last more than three months after the initial illness. However, these numbers vary greatly and we could be under or overestimating the actual tail of this disease. 

For the individual sufferer statistics don’t mean much. If you are a builder who can’t work, a student who can’t concentrate, or a mother who can’t get out of bed, the impact is 100 percent. 

Auckland University has established a Long Covid registry to help understand the burden of this disease on patients, especially on quality of life and economics. They will also track these impacts over time, as well as evaluate the pathways and barriers to treatment. I encourage patients with ongoing symptoms to contact the registry and get their information onto the database. 

Long Covid can affect just about every organ system in the body and symptoms include fatigue, aches, stomach upsets, sleep issues, cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, palpitations, brain fog, headache, dizziness, weakness and many more.

GPs have been well supplied with information about Long Covid, but the wide range of presentations and the non-specific nature of symptoms sometimes make it hard to diagnose. Also, we know that treatment options are limited and usually require input from a multidisciplinary team. In the UK there are dedicated Long Covid clinics which have been highly effective, but even these are pulling back on services because of budget cuts. 

Patients have often had to look to peer support groups to get the help they need. I attended a presentation by Long Covid Support Aotearoa at the GP conference last year and it was an emotional experience. Many sufferers felt that traditional medical services had let them down or that the wider community did not appreciate the devastating impact on their lives. They also wanted to emphasise the growing body of scientific evidence about the effect of Long Covid on the immune system, physiology, inflammation, endocrine system and clotting, etc. A small controversy broke out when it was suggested that psychological methods could help, which was unfortunate as this wasn’t meant to imply that the condition was “all in your mind”. Obviously, the mind can affect the body and vice versa.

Treatments are being researched all the time, but there is the complication that Long Covid involves many different symptoms and pathologies, so one size is never going to fill all. Currently, in New Zealand, treatment is aimed at mitigating specific symptoms and providing support and resources through the rehabilitation phase.  

The best way to avoid Long Covid is not to get Covid-19 in the first place. Currently we are experiencing flare ups of the virus every six months or so, and last year more than 600 Kiwis died from it. Vaccination is still necessary and effective.