Info on ‘long Covid-19’

IF you have recovered from the Covid-19 but are still experiencing certain symptoms, you could have post-Covid-19 condition or “long Covid-19”.
Dr Janet Diaz, from the World Health Organisation, explains the symptoms and treatments.
Some of the most common symptoms of post-Covid-19 condition include shortness of breath, cognitive dysfunction, which people call brain fog, as well as fatigue.
Those are the three most common.
But there are more than 200 symptoms reported in patients.
Other symptoms include chest pain, such as trouble speaking.
Some have anxiety or depression, muscle aches, fever, loss of smell and taste.

How long does the condition last?
Our understanding of how long this condition lasts is not completely clear.
The condition can last three months, six months and up to nine months.
But we are still about one year and a half into the pandemic.
There are still more studies to be done to follow patients who develop post-Covid-19 conditions and to see when their symptoms we hope will resolve.

What about treatment for this condition? Do we have treatments available?
Any patient or person who develops the condition should go seek care.
The care pathways should be multi-disciplinary in nature, meaning that they can include your primary care provider as well as relevant specialist rehab professionals, social care workers, psychosocial workers, mental health professionals.
That’s the type of care people with the post-Covid-19 condition should receive.
In regards to specific treatment, we don’t yet have one, because we don’t yet understand why this develops. So, as we’re learning more about the actual reason or mechanism of the disease developing, then we hope to have a specific treatment.

What do we know so far about vaccination and post Covid-19 condition?
There is still a lot to learn about the impacts of vaccination and post-Covid-19 condition.
However, it is clear that preventing Covid-19 is the best way to prevent the development of the post-Covid-19 condition.
So the use of vaccines we know reduces hospitalisation, reduces mortality.
So all those that are eligible should do that.
Public health measures such as mask-wearing in the appropriate places, physical distancing, hand-washing, are also extremely important to prevent the Covid-19.