‘Best way to prevent post COVID is to prevent COVID-19 itself’

WHO supporting Long COVID studies in SL, says Dr. Alaka Singh

With many people expressing concern over the ailments faced by those who have recovered from COVID-19, the Sunday Times asked the Country Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Alaka Singh about the post COVID-19 condition dubbed ‘Long COVID’.

The WHO is supporting studies on Long COVID in Sri Lanka, she said, explaining that most people with COVID-19 experience mild symptoms or moderate illness. Around 10-15% progress to severe disease and 5% become critically ill. Typically, people recover from COVID-19 after 2 to 6 weeks. However, some may have symptoms that last for weeks or even months after recovery although they are not infectious during this time.

In February this year, the WHO organised a series of expert consultations to reach a consensus on a description of the condition. It states: “The post COVID-19 condition occurs in individuals with a history of probable or confirmed SARS CoV-2 infection, usually 3 months from the onset of COVID-19 with symptoms that last for at least 2 months and cannot be explained by an alternative diagnosis.

“The common symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath and cognitive dysfunction but also others which generally have an impact on everyday functioning. Symptoms may be new onset following initial recovery from an acute COVID-19 episode or persist from the initial illness. Symptoms may also fluctuate or relapse over time.”

Dr. Singh says that the WHO is proactively supporting further studies and this definition may change as new evidence emerges and our understanding continues to evolve. The burden of post COVID-19 health issues is not very well documented.

Studies done so far across the world:

Preliminary results from a study in the United Kingdom have estimated that 1 in 10 respondents who tested positive for COVID-19 may exhibit symptoms for a period of 12 weeks or longer.

Other studies in the United States of America (USA) and Switzerland indicate that around a third of people who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 had not returned to their usual state of health when interviewed 3 to 6 weeks after diagnosis. Another recent study in the USA had found that 30% of COVID-19 patients surveyed still had persistent symptoms after nine months. Eighty-five percent of patients surveyed were outpatients with mild illness.

She states that limited research data indicate that although the post COVID condition appears to be less common in children and adolescents than in adults, longterm effects after COVID-19 may also occur in children and adolescents with similar symptoms as seen in adults. However, as young children may have trouble describing health problems, it is possible that there may be other symptoms in these age groups.

Prevention

“The best way to prevent post COVID conditions is to prevent COVID-19 illness itself. The vaccines currently available prevent severe disease and death with some protection against infection especially when combined with public health and social measures,” says Dr. Singh.

She adds that emerging evidence suggests the same for Long COVID: those who develop COVID-19 while being fully vaccinated are less likely to have symptoms for more than a month.