A report released Thursday by Canada’s chief science adviser says she considers COVID-19 the “head” of the pandemic but long COVID its “tail” as the illness inflicts significant harm on individuals, their families and potentially the country’s economy.
“Analysis of the socio-economic impact of PCC from other countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States, indicates significant impacts on the labour market and the Gross Domestic Product , in addition to health costs and demands.” “At the clinical level, an important question will be whether PCC/long-COVID is a single disease, or a constellation of conditions requiring distinct treatment and follow up. Answering this question will require close collaboration between epidemiologists, health care providers and health researchers, as well as the use of novel approaches such as artificial intelligence -enabled data analysis,” the latest report says.
However, all the clinics will close on April 1 and shift to a virtual clinic, the ministry said, citing a declining number of referrals. Susie Goulding, who founded an online support group for “long haulers,” said a lack of family doctors to make referrals could be partly to blame for why people may not be attending some clinics.
“It’s public messaging that’s missing. There’s a complete disconnect with doctors not knowing, three years into it, doctors still not even believing that long COVID exists. There’s a problem, and the problem needs to be addressed,” she said.