430,000 Britons have long Covid two years after infection, says ONS

An estimated 430,000 Britons were still suffering from Long Covid two years after first contracting the virus, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

One in every 32 people in the UK was estimated to have some form of Long Covid at the end of July, equivalent to 2 million people. Of those, around 1.5 million said their symptoms were adversely affecting their daily activities, while 384,000 said their ability to undertake daily activities had been “limited a lot”.

Fatigue continues to be the most common symptom reported by individuals with long Covid, with 62% reporting weakness or tiredness. More than a third, 37%, of those surveyed reported shortness of breath as one of their symptoms, while difficulty concentrating (33%) and muscle ache (31%) were the next most cited symptoms.

Kelly Fearnley, a foundation doctor at Bradford Royal Infirmary, said: “Long Covid is not only crippling the health of the nation, it is destroying the health of our economy.

“Research efforts so far have been slow and underfunded, and fail to reflect the scale and urgency of the problem.

“Not only are some people not recovering, they are deteriorating. People have not only lost their health and independence, they are losing their jobs, financial security and homes.”

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Source: The Guardian, 1 September 2022