New poll shows thousands in Ireland have long COVID for over a year
New health research launched today reveals that 2.2% of the adult population have experienced the symptoms of long COVID for over a year. This equates to 84,500 people struggling with the condition when extrapolated across the adult population.
The data is based on a series of polls commissioned by Denis Naughten TD on long COVID over the past 18 months. These polls have been conducted by the leading polling company, Ireland Thinks.
Results from the last 18 months show that while there has been a decrease in the numbers with symptoms for less than a year, it has consistently shown just over 2% of the population reporting long COVID symptoms in excess of 12 months.
The current poll, conducted this month, shows that nearly one-third of adults suffering from long COVID first developed their symptoms more than two years ago. This equates to 1.3% of the adult population or an estimated 50,000 people.
Special leave entitlements for frontline health workers suffering from long COVID are set to cease on June 30. This is despite the findings of this research underscoring the enduring impact of long COVID on a significant portion of the population, with a variety of debilitating symptoms persisting for more than two years.
Denis Naughten commented: “The main long COVID symptom experienced continues to be fatigue (reported by 83% of those with long COVID in November 2022 and 85% in June 2024). However, other common conditions such as memory problems, muscle ache, shortness of breath and sleep-related problems have remained consistent across the set of surveys over the past 18 months.”
"While there has been significant global progress on how to medically treat long COVID, the persistence of these figures over the study period shows little improvement for the population with symptoms here in Ireland. This does not reflect well on the treatment provided by the HSE.”
“Despite a comprehensive review of the interim model of treatment of the condition from HIQA last year, a revised model of care is still not being considered by the HSE. The last thing we need now is for this to be delayed.”
“Given that a higher proportion of women, at 62.6%, report that their symptoms impede their daily activities compared to 14.7% of men, it’s essential for the HSE to promptly address this health issue, which appears to predominantly impact women.”
“This condition is a multi-faceted syndrome, so a dedicated cross-specialty care plan must be introduced by the HSE immediately to help patients’ treatment and recovery pathway.”