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Long COVID
With over 150 million cases reported worldwide, and over 3.2 million reported deaths, the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the world as we know it forever with people suffering loss of loved ones, loss of jobs and a detrition to their mental health
For many, mild symptoms disappear after a few days, and after the 10 days isolation period life returns to normal, but for some, the effects of Covid are lasting weeks, if not months which is having a dramatic effect on all aspects of their life. A systematic review has highlighted 55 different long-term effects but common symptoms of long Covid include breathlessness, headaches, cough, fatigue and cognitive impairment or ‘brain fog’.
In Britain three in every five people with long Covid say their usual activities are somewhat limited and one in five says they are limited “a lot”, which often means being unable to do even a part-time, desk based job.
With the virus restricting the day to day activity of an individual, the illness transforms not only their personal health, but ripples through their personal life, effecting their finances, their family and even friends.
Reports state in the early stages of the pandemic those affected by long Covid feel like they have been abandoned by the NHS and their GP as, despite awareness among doctors improving, in many places there is still nowhere for the GP to refer patients for specialist help.
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) has stated that the usual rights or sickness absence and sick pay apply when someone is off work because of long Covid and have issued guidance to employers to consider chasing their hours, offer health assessments, and make “reasonable adjustments” rather than trying to work out if an employee’s condition is a disability.
What support is there to treat long Covid? Currently, there is no drug approved to treat long Covid. Instead, doctors try to treat individual symptoms of the condition through physiotherapy, speech therapy or breathing exercises, and in some cases, patients are referring on to specialists in cardiology neurology and respiratory care.
In December 2020, it was announced that more than 60 assessment centres have been established assist those with long Covid conditions. With the NHS providing £10 million for the network of clinics, long term sufferers can now access specialist help, following a referral from their GP. The centres bring together doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists to offer both physical and psychological assessments to refer patients to the right treatment and rehabilitation services. With the UK roadmap to ‘normal’ being actively underway, vaccinations increasing and lockdown easing, the end is near. But for those in other parts of the world, such as India, seeing over 386,000 confirmed cases and 3,498 deaths a day, the return to ‘normal’ is a long way off and even so, only time will tell how long the virus cripples the world.