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A report released Thursday by Canada’s top scientific adviser says she sees COVID-19 as the “head” of the pandemic, but long COVID-19 is her “tail,” as the disease inflicts harm on individuals, their families and potentially the country’s economy.
Dr. Mona Nemer said that between 10 and 20 percent of other people with COVID-19 develop prolonged COVID after recovering from an infection and struggle with a variety of symptoms ranging from high blood pressure and abnormal heartbeat to medically undefined symptoms like chronic fatigue, brain pain. fog, muscle pain, and blurred vision.
“Some patients have not recovered two or three years after the initial infection and it is not certain that a proportion can fully recover,” Nemer said of the condition that lacks consensus on transparent definition and diagnostic criteria, affecting welfare programs. disability benefits and insurance through those who can no longer work.
“The long-term socio-economic implications for Canada can be far-reaching and require planning and monitoring,” he said of the broader consequences of the long COVID, also known as post-COVID-19 condition or CCP.
“Analysis of CCP’s socioeconomic influence of other countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States, indicates a significant influence on the labor market and gross domestic product (GDP), as well as on health costs and demands. “
Canada could face a “massive crippling event,” as it is evident that COVID-19 increases the risk of several chronic diseases, adding diabetes and hypertension, Nemer said, adding that the number of other people with COVID in the long term could be higher than expected due to the lack of established diagnostic criteria.
Last year, Statistics Canada said that about 15% of adults in the country reported prolonged COVID symptoms at least 3 months after a positive COVID-19 test, or 1. 4 million people.
Nemer made 18 recommendations, adding the creation of a pan-Canadian network of studies and clinical care, as well as standardized tests and clinical guidelines.
“At the clinical level, an important question will be whether prolonged PCC/COVID is a solitary illness or a constellation of situations requiring separate treatment and follow-up,” the report said.
In response, the federal government on Thursday announced a $29 million investment for the progression of clinical rules and the creation of an online network where researchers and clinicians can share data about the long COVID with others and the public.
The Public Health Agency of Canada has said $20 million will go to the Long COVID Internet research network, which will be led by Dr. Anna S. Simpson. Angela Cheung, senior medical scientist at the University Health Network in Toronto.
The funding, from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, will allow Cheung to work with approximately 300 researchers, doctors and others with COVID over the long term to scale up diagnostics, treatments and rehabilitation.
Cheung said researchers across the country will now have the opportunity to share resources and receive information from others.
“We will host webinars to share our findings and partner with provincial and professional organizations, for example, such as the Ontario College of Family Physicians,” Cheung said, adding that the public will have access to the network.
PHAC said the remaining $9 million will go to McMaster University to expand clinical practice rules for those who have recovered from COVID-19 infection but still have symptoms.
Specialized long-term COVID rehabilitation clinics are located in some provinces, adding British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec.
But their precise numbers and locations are not readily available, and patients spend long waiting times to access any of them, according to Nemer’s report.
It has 4 clinics, after one closed and merged last September, a Health Ministry spokesperson said in an emailed response.
However, all clinics will be transferred on April 1 to a virtual clinic, the ministry said, prompting a drop in referrals.
He said that in May 2021 there were 755 referrals to clinics, that number dropped to 80 in October, November and December 2022.
The move to a virtual clinic for singles, from a site in Vancouver, Surrey, Abbotsford and Victoria, will provide “access to care across the province,” the ministry said.
“Currently, more than 1,500 patients across the province have access to them and will continue to receive the care they need. “
Susie Goulding, who founded an online organization for “long term,” said the lack of a circle of family doctors to make referrals may be partly to blame for why other people don’t attend certain clinics.
“It just hasn’t been easy to access those clinics,” Goulding of Cambridge, Ontario, said, adding that other people have been bedridden and want treatment first.
“There’s a lot of anxiety about that and not having proper care with your doctor and thinking, ‘What’s going to happen to me?There is a lot of emotional tension and tension in wasting your homework and wasting your salary. How are you doing in this economy? »
As part of the complex and mysterious spectrum of symptoms, Goulding said other people smell of dirty diapers, cigarette smoke and rotten trash when those odors don’t exist, often leading to increased stigma from physical care providers and even their own families.
“What’s missing are public messages. There is a total disconnect with doctors who don’t know, 3 years later, doctors still don’t know that COVID has been around for a long time. There is a challenge, and the challenge will have to be solved,” he said.
Goulding became inflamed with COVID-19 in March 2020. A year later, as her list of symptoms grew, she sought help at a brain injury clinic in Burlington, Ontario, where for 3 months she saw a physical therapist and occupational and speech therapists. She also gained acupuncture and counseling.
“I think I have the most productive chance of recovering,” said Goulding, who said he was relieved of dizziness, vision problems, earache and mental confusion. and gastrointestinal problems, come and go.
In his report, Nemer also noted that there have been very few studies on the “major domain of research” involving young people with COVID for a long time.
Regina’s Pam Milos said her 11-year-old son, Ian Milos, fell ill with COVID-19 in March 2021, along with her and five other relatives.
Her son was first the least healthy of all, but then developed unexplained symptoms, adding muscle aches, chronic fatigue and excessive sensitivity to noise, leaving the circle of relatives “walking on eggshells,” she said.
It wasn’t until last November that a pediatrician diagnosed him with prolonged COVID, he said, adding that fitness staff at an emergency branch advised him to fake his symptoms to get attention.
Milos said his son went from being an active kid who rode motorcycles and scooters and played basketball to not going to school much. When he attends, he comes home and falls asleep at four o’clock in the afternoon, extremely tired.
Now she sees an occupational therapist and counselor, however, her extended benefits ran out long ago, so she’ll pay about $400 a month, said Milos, a teacher, who was forced to take on a momentary assignment as a tutor.
“It also weighs on me mentally because I haven’t gone to help him for 18 months,” she said. “I’m at the point where I think, ‘Will he be a general kid again?'”
The Canadian Press report first published on March 9, 2023.
Canadian Press’ fitness policy is supported by a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is only guilty of this content.
Camille Bains, the Canadian press
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