Tiredness is crushing. It's difficult to do simple tasks because of brain fog. Short breath as you walk up the stairs.
According to patient groups, researchers and clinicians the World Health Organization has worked with since cases of long Covid-19 started to be recognised in mid 2020
We don't currently have a clear picture of how many people are suffering due to the fact that most data is from high-income countries. Estimates show that tens of millions of people have contracted long Covid, and at least 15% have experienced symptoms for at least a year.
It can affect anyone, but according to the latest data from WHO and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, women are twice as likely as men to have contracted the condition. The condition is devastating people's lives and livelihoods from all the interactions WHO has had with them.
The health system is still dealing with additional waves of infections and the knock on of essential medical services that have been severely disrupted.
Due to an increase in long-term disability, the world has lost a significant number of workers to illness, death, fatigue, and unexpected retirement. The impact of long Covid for all countries is very serious and needs immediate and sustained action equivalent to its scale because of the change in the Pandemic. The effort is driven by five elements.
It is important to listen to the patient groups, researchers and health workers who are dealing with this condition. Governments should use their experience to help shape policies that aim to diagnose, support and treat people quickly. It is important for health professionals to let people know that the road to recovery can be long and frustrating at times.
We can reduce the severity of Covid by ensuring equitable access and appropriate use of tests, therapies and vaccines, because the best way to prevent long Covid is to avoid infections. Almost 70% of people have received a vaccine, but only 22% have beenvaccinated. Billions of people are vulnerable to infections, which will lead to more patients with long Covid. There needs to be a concerted effort to get life-saving tools to people who need them. The people they reach are the most powerful part of innovations.
We need to collect data on patients with Covid. Most of the data collected and research conducted on long Covid is from high-income countries, leaving us blind to the effects in low and middle-income countries. The scientific community can't understand long Covid and how best to treat it if they don't know the scale of the challenge. The World Health Organization has a data platform that gathers information on patients with long Covid. I encourage countries to share data.
There has been a lot of research done on Covid, but there needs to be sustained investment to expand our scientific understanding so better treatments can be developed. The World Health Organization will continue to update the clinical management guidance which includes recommendations for rehabilitation so that clinicians and health professionals across the world have access to the latest science and data.
People with long Covid need help. It is important to integrate multi-disciplinary care into health systems in countries with Covid-specific clinics as patients need a variety of services. Health and care workers with expertise in neurology, rehabilitation, psychology, speech therapy and respiratory therapy are included. The quality of life of patients with long Covid is negatively impacted by delayed clinical care.
It was important for overwhelmed health systems to focus on saving patients with acute infections. It is important for governments to invest long-term in their health system and workers in order to deal with long Covid. The plan should include giving immediate access to antivirals to patients at high risk of serious disease, investing in research and sharing new tools and knowledge as they are identified to prevent, detect and treat patients more effectively. Supporting patients physical and mental health is one of the things it means.
On behalf of the scientific community, health workers and the patients with long Covid WHO, I urge all leaders to seriously ramp up support so that we can minimize the suffering and improve the health of those affected so they can return to living their fullest lives.
The director general of the World Health Organization is a man.
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