Just a little warning guys. As a Father who has two out of three of my grown up kids suffering badly (badly = desperately trying to hang onto their jobs and unable to function as they did before) with long covid, this virus is a bit like playing Russian roulette when you catch it. From the most recent figures from ONS:
- An estimated 1.9 million people living in private households in the UK (2.9% of the population) were experiencing self-reported long COVID (symptoms continuing for more than four weeks after the first confirmed or suspected coronavirus (COVID-19) infection that were not explained by something else) as of 5 March 2023 (see Figure 1).
- Of people with self-reported long COVID, 83,000 (4%) first had (or suspected they had) COVID-19 less than 12 weeks previously, 1.7 million people (92%) at least 12 weeks previously, 1.3 million (69%) at least one year previously and 762,000 (41%) at least two years previously.
- Dr Simon Williams, a behavioural scientist and public health researcher at Swansea University, said the findings indicated an absolute public health crisis: “It may not be an acute crisis like we saw in 2020-21 and the early peaks of pre-vaccination Covid, but it’s more of an ongoing chronic crisis.
“Thankfully due to vaccines, death rates and hospitalisations due to acute infection are and will likely remain low. But long Covid is unfortunately a problem that cannot be ignored.” He added: “If five years ago, we were to imagine that a completely new disease, which for some can cause medium- to long-term, and potentially disabling symptoms in approximately 3% of the population, which is what the new figures suggest, we would be enormously concerned.”
3% of the population might look small enough but believe me, if you have it it will fuck you up big time. I'm talking heart problems/damage, brain fog, muscle pain/degeneration, chronic fatigue, breathlessness. It matters little about the severity of the initial infection - many with mild/no symptoms have gone on to suffer LV.
And there is no cure.
You may get better in time, you may not. My lad has had it since Summer 22. Daughter since late last year.
Please don't be blase about you or your family catching it.
