Over 36 million Europeans may have had Long Covid

Image: Adobe Stock | rriceLubo Ivanko

According to estimates from the World Health Organization's (WHO) collaborating centre, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle, nearly 36 million people across the WHO European Region may have experienced Long Covid in the first three years of the pandemic.

That's approximately one in 30 Europeans over the past three years – one in 30 who may still be finding it hard to return to normal life.

WHO Regional Director for Europe, Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge revealed this in a recent statement on Covid-19.

"We are listening to the calls from Long Covid patients and support groups and raising awareness of their plight, but clearly much more needs to be done to understand it," he said in the statement.

Long Covid remains a glaring blind spot in WHO’s knowledge that urgently needs to be filled.

"Unless we develop comprehensive diagnostics and treatment for Long Covid, we will never truly recover from the pandemic. We are encouraging more research to be undertaken and urging those eligible for Covid-19 vaccination to be vaccinated. This under-recognised condition should be taken seriously across the health and social sectors, and we should assure ample care is available for patients," Kluge stated.

Ultimately, the best way to avoid Long Covid is to avoid Covid-19 in the first place. The priority must be to vaccinate vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, people with underlying medical conditions, and the immunocompromised.

"We should ensure at least 70 per cent vaccine coverage for these groups, including both primary and additional booster doses," Kluge stated.

While it may not be a global public health emergency, however, Covid-19 has not gone away. Close to 1,000 new Covid-19 deaths continue to occur across the region every week, and this is an underestimate because of a drop in countries regularly reporting Covid-19 deaths to WHO. The disease continues to disproportionately affect the weakest and the most vulnerable.

Covid-19 exploited an epidemic of diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and chronic lung illnesses, which account for 75 per cent of mortality in our region today. Those with such underlying conditions were, and still are, far more vulnerable to severe forms of Covid-19.

Yet simple solutions can help reduce the burden of these so-called non-communicable diseases and fight the next pandemic when it arrives. Those with the means and opportunity can, for example, undertake 25 minutes of moderate exercise a day, quit smoking, drink less alcohol, and limit salt intake.