Long Covid: Doctor calls for more research

A doctor who has been ill since contracting Covid-19 six months ago has called for more research into the prolonged effects of the virus.

Dr Jake Suett, 31, has been unable to work since March, when he first had suspected Covid-19 symptoms.

He said data about so-called "long Covid" was essential to help the NHS make "good public health decisions".

A government spokesperson said it was "constantly learning" about the long-term impact of the virus.

Dr Suett was working as an anaesthetist and intensive care doctor at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn, Norfolk, when he became ill with suspected Covid but tests were not available at the time.

He said he was still unable to walk for more than 30 minutes without feeling breathless, adding he "almost feels ashamed as a 31-year-old to still be feeling so unwell".

About 10% of people experience prolonged illness after Covid-19, according to the British Medical Journal.

A parliamentary committee is urging the government to collect data on people still affected months after infection, including those who never had to have hospital treatment or were tested.

A Department of Health spokesperson said it had committed £8.4m in funding to "one of the world's largest comprehensive research studies into the long-term health impacts of coronavirus on hospitalised patients."

The study is centred on people who were in hospital with the virus, but Dr Suett said the "vast majority" of those with long-lasting symptoms did not need to be treated in hospital.

"Unless that data starts getting collected I don't think we're going to be in a position to make good public health decisions and good policies for the country," he said.

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