Two million Britons may have suffered long Covid

The findings were based on data from 508,707 adults who took part in the study between September 2020 and February this year…reports Asian Lite News.

More than 2 million people in England may have had long Covid-19 lasting for at least 12 weeks, a new research has revealed.

The Imperial College London’s REACT-2 (REal-time Assessment of Community Transmission) study issued on Thursday showed that more than one third of people who had Covid-19 reported prolonged symptoms, such as tiredness and muscle aches or shortness of breath, tightness in the chest and chest pain.

The findings were based on data from 508,707 adults who took part in the study between September 2020 and February this year.

It was noted, however, that the study was based on people reporting their own symptoms and it might over-estimate the prevalence of long Covid because many of the symptoms are common and not unique to coronavirus.

Professor Paul Elliott, director of the REACT program, said in a statement: “Our findings do paint a concerning picture of the longer-term health consequences of Covid-19, which need to be accounted for in policy and planning.

“Long Covid-19 is still poorly understood but we hope through our research that we can contribute to better identification and management of this condition, which our data and others’ suggest may ultimately affect millions of people in the UK alone.”

Meanwhile, UK has reported 35,204 new coronavirus cases of the Delta variant first identified in India in the latest week, marking a 46 percent increase, Public Health England (PHE) said Friday.

The total number of confirmed cases of the variant now stands at 111,157, according to the PHE.

The Delta variant now comprises 95 percent of all sequenced cases, the PHE added. Last week, it made up 99 percent of new COVID-19 cases across Britain.

Meanwhile, the PHE said the current vaccines continue to have a “crucial effect on hospital admission and death”, adding there is currently no evidence that this new variant causes more severe disease or renders vaccines less effective.

A total of 117 people has died in England having the Delta variant, eight of which were people under the age of 50, according to the PHE.

Six of these eight people were unvaccinated, while two died after more than 21 days of receiving a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine.

Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said though the data suggested “we have begun to break the link between cases and hospitalisations”, she warned against complacency.

She urged Britons to get vaccinated and book their second jabs as soon as possible.

“Whilst vaccines provide excellent protection, they do not provide total protection, so it is still as important as ever that we continue to exercise caution,” she said. “Protect yourself and the people around you by working from home where possible, and by practising ‘hands, face, space, fresh air’ at all times.” (ANI/Xinhua)

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