Most people who contract COVID-19 recover within two to three weeks. However, some people, even those who've had mild COVID-19 illness experience symptoms for months after their initial infection. Having so called "long COVID" can be exhausting for "COVID long haulers".
Long COVID isn't well understood
"Our understanding of how to diagnose and manage COVID-19 in general continues to evolve," explains Dr Noluthando Nematswerani, Discovery Health's Head of the Centre for Clinical Excellence. The more we learn, the clearer it becomes that the disease can affect us both in the short-term and long-term, and it can also affect multiple organ systems in the body.
"Long COVID is not yet fully understood and for the considerable number of people across the world who are reporting long COVID symptoms, the situation is extremely serious. It is very unfortunate that, across the world, some people who suffer 'post-COVID conditions' have reported struggling to get their symptoms taken seriously, feeling stigmatised or even being unable to access care."
Why is it important that we understand long COVID?
Around one in every 10 people who contract COVID-19 continue to feel sick for longer than three weeks following an acute phase of illness.
Having long COVID, post-COVID conditions, Post Acute Sequelae (PASC) of COVID-19 or being a COVID long-hauler is something that a World Health Organization (WHO) brief states "can be severely disabling, and those suffering from it report functional disabilities. Although there is no simple symptom or test for diagnosing it, many people experience severe fatigue and a range of troubling physical symptoms that make it difficult for those who are employed to return to work. This has obvious economic consequences."
Are people who have persistent COVID-19 symptoms infectious to others?
"People who contract COVID-19 seem to be most infectious to others within the first five days but not afterwards," says Dr Nematswerani. "Unless someone has been reinfected with COVID-19 in the months after their first infection and if they suspect this, they should be tested, it's very unlikely that the presence of ongoing long COVID symptoms means that they are infectious to others."
According to a Q and A on "COVID Long Haulers" by the Cleveland Clinic, "The vast majority of long haulers test negative for COVID-19, despite lingering symptoms." They define a long hauler as still having some sort of symptom 28 days or later after they were first infected.
Which symptoms are associated with long COVID?
The condition can be very exhausting and makes patients feel weak, and it's associated with a range of often overlapping symptoms which occur at the same time.
Long COVID symptoms include:
- Fatigue
- Shortness of breath
- Cough
- Joint pain
- Chest pain
Other less common but more serious symptoms include:
- Severe fatigue
- Brain fog (difficulty thinking and concentrating)
- Headaches
- Muscle pain
- Intermittent fever
- Depression
- Heart palpitations
How should long COVID be managed?
"The initial management of long COVID should be by a person's primary care provider, such as by their GP," adds Dr Nematswerani. "They will be able to assess the patient fully and refer them where needed so that their care can be tailored to their clinical situation."
"It's very important that those who experience ongoing COVID-19 symptoms continue to be managed by their attending doctor and continue to be vigilant for months and years after recovering from COVID-19. They should also always check in with their doctor at any point if there are symptoms in the immediate short or longer term that are worrying, as they could be indicative of a deeper medical problem."
COVID RECOVERY BENEFIT
Enhancements to the WHO Global Outbreak Benefit gives members with Long COVID who meet the Scheme's clinical benefit entry criteria, cover for:
- A defined number of face-to-face and/or online consultations
- A defined basket-of-care of relevant pathology and radiology tests
- Appropriate supportive treatment for symptoms and rehabilitation, where necessary.
You can access the Long COVID Recovery Benefit four weeks after acute COVID-19 illness. Your doctor must complete and submit a claim with the Long COVID- ICD10 code U09.9.