As the first step in the largest vaccination campaign in Argentina’s history, primary health workers are given the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against the corona virus.
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LONDON – Largest worldwide study of “long Covid” to date has found that many of those who suffer from persistent illness after infection with Covid-19 are unable to return to work at full strength six months later .
The term “long Covid” refers to patients who suffer from long-term illness after initially contracting the virus, with symptoms such as dyspnea, migraines and chronic fatigue.
Public discussion of the pandemic has largely focused on people with serious or fatal illness, with ongoing medical problems that are either undervalued or misunderstood. However, recent studies have shown that a growing number of Covid patients are experiencing persistent symptoms, with some patients calling themselves “long remote controls.”
A preliminary study published on MedRxiv Tuesday is believed to represent the largest collection of symptoms identified to date in the long Covid population.
In the study, which was not peer-reviewed, the researchers examined 3,762 people ages 18 to 80 from 56 countries to identify the symptoms and other problems arising from Long Covid.
It registered 205 symptoms in 10 organ systems, with 66 symptoms traced over seven months. On average, respondents experienced symptoms from nine organ systems.
What were the findings of the study?
The most common symptoms after six months were: fatigue, fatigue after exercise and cognitive impairment, also known as brain fog.
Respondents with symptoms greater than six months experienced an average of 13.8 symptoms at month seven, according to the study by members of Patient Led Research for COVID-19, a self-organized group of tall Covid patients who are also investigators.
More than 45% of the respondents said they needed a reduced work schedule compared to before illness and 22.3% said they were not working at the time of the survey due to their health status. Almost 86% experienced a relapse, with exercise, physical or mental activity and stress identified as the main triggers.
The analysis was limited to suspected and confirmed Covid cases with disease that lasted longer than 28 days and started before June. This was to allow an investigation of the symptoms over an average of six months, researchers said.
A woman wearing a protective face mask walks along the seawall in Stanley Park in Vancouver, Canada on January 4, 2021.
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“We must not forget about Long Covid,” said Dr. Gabriel Scally, president of epidemiology at the Royal Society of Medicine, Tuesday via Twitter.
“Thousands of new cases develop every day. Vaccination is vital, but it must be done effectively and supported by other controls that Independent Sage has tirelessly advocated,” said Scally, a member of the scientific group that provides scientific advice on the pandemic to the British Government and the public.
The results of the study are as countries across Europe are imposing strict new health measures in an attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
According to data from Johns Hopkins University, more than 85 million people worldwide have contracted Covid, with 1.85 million deaths.