ABUJA, September 1 (IPS) – More than two years on, the COVID-19 pandemic rages with the number of cases and deaths increasing every day. A more silent and long-lasting pandemic that occurs at the same time is a long COVID. The lasting impact of COVID has dire consequences for the future of humanity and worries us all.
Recently Household impulse survey The US Centers for Disease Control found that 14% of US adults on average report persistent COVID symptoms. This is staggering because 93 million cases have been reported in the US. This implies that 13 million people in the US have long-standing COVID. Long COVID is also a global phenomenon: 2 million people in the United Kingdom, Half a million in Australia, and beyond 100 millions people globally.
Long COVID is a group of symptoms that some people, on the surface, recover from COVID-19 infection. Its occurrence is more frequent in people who are seriously ill and in people who are not vaccinated. However, even people who do not have COVID-19 symptoms when infected can have persistent COVID.
Examples of persistent COVID include loss of smell, taste loss, brain fog, difficulty remembering past events, fatigue on exertion, chest pain, shortness of breath, headache, heart palpitations, muscle aches , change skin and hair color, etc.
Long COVID changes over time. It can last for as short as 2 weeks and as long as many months after recovering from COVID-19 infection.
Research published in the British Medical Journal even documented a female patient with persistent loss of sense of smell 27 months after her initial COVID-19 infection. Therefore, it is not surprising that some people with prolonged COVID-19 are unable to work. Follow Brookings InstitutionLong COVID may account for 15% of 10.6 million unfilled jobs in the US
With the increase in COVID-19 cases powered by new variants, the number of long-term COVID cases will continue to increase. This is a wake-up call to national and global efforts to mitigate the lasting impact of COVID. Here are five ways to do so.
First, all efforts to replenish global COVID-19 funds must include plans to support long-term COVID interventions. These should not be outside of COVID-19 prevention activities such as wearing a mask, washing hands with soap under running water, and getting a COVID shot.
Unfortunately, the 2022 “Break COVID Now” Summit, co-hosted by Gavi, is focused solely on adding capital to facilitate the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines by poor countries. Another way to ensure funding is available for long COVID interventions before the next fund replenishment is to ensure that all COVID-19 related funding includes a component of long COVID. Such funding should pay for long-term local COVID research to determine national burden, and to treat and care for those who are sick.
Second, some persistent COVID symptoms should be classed as disability. The United States Department of Health and Human Services recognizes that Long COVID can be a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act if it substantially limits one or more major life activities. Other countries should do the same.
Classifying persistent COVID symptoms as a disability will enable the sufferer to make a full recovery while receiving government or employer support. It will also protect the rights of those who are subject to discrimination and stigmatization. For example, a worker with a brain disorder and difficulty recalling past events needs time off work and mental health treatment to recover.
Third, update mental health care to include care for people living with long-term COVID. This should include updating practice standards for mental health practitioners, mental health policies and legislation. In addition, doctors should refer people with persistent COVID to mental health professionals.
This is relevant globally, especially in low- and middle-income countries with poor mental health awareness and services. For example, in Nigeria, public awareness of mental health is poor, staff are poorly qualified, colonial-era mental health laws and care for people with mental health disorders are common. Mental health is mostly provided by unqualified people.
In 2019, I co-led Mental health in Nigeria surgery – the largest mental health survey in the country in the past 20 years. Our results show that 70% of Nigerians say a mental health disorder is when sick people start running around naked. Such misconceptions delay care and stigmatize patients. One can imagine how long people with COVID with mental health disorders could be left alone in Nigeria.
Fourth, prioritize children’s long-term COVID interventions because they are our future and long COVID can disrupt their ability to succeed in life.
One systematic review Persistent COVID in children and adolescents showed a prevalence of 25.24%. The top five persistent COVID symptoms in children and adolescents were mood symptoms (16.50%), fatigue (9.66%), sleep disturbances (8.42%), headache (7.84%) and respiratory symptoms (7.62%).
The mindset of children and adolescents dealing with such conditions is not good. Their growth and productivity are stifled. Therefore, pediatricians, parents, and child social workers should be trained in how to best provide long-term COVID care to children and adolescents.
Finally, invest in nonprofits that provide long-term COVID interventions because governments alone cannot address the overwhelming backlog of people infected. COVIDAid – The UK’s first long-running COVID charity – brought long-term COVID to the forefront of UK national discussions. It has provided support to more than 125,000 people through a web hub, hosted live events on the mental health impact of COVID-19, launched new free COVID-19 long courses, and encouraged activism. volunteering during COVID.
Non-profit organizations play an important role in bridging the gap in social development. Having more of these types of long-running COVID nonprofits will ensure these achievements are replicated in other countries.
COVID has long been an existential threat to humanity. Globally, 100 million people have more lingering COVID-19 than the population of Germany. There is fire on the mountain. We must strengthen global efforts to extinguish the fires.
© Inter Press Service (2022) – All rights reservedOrigin: Inter Press Service
