Surviving COVID only half the battle
Long-term persistent symptoms of virus have ‘real impacts’ on some people who recover
As more studies are conducted and information comes to light, Niagara’s acting medical officer of health says surviving the pandemic itself is only half the battle, with more challenges on the way in surviving the long-term impacts of COVID-19.
“We do want to make sure we’re trying to control COVID-19 longer term, to make sure we minimize people who are suffering from this,” said Dr. Mustafa Hirji.
For people who may be hospitalized and recover from the virus, Hirji said conservative estimates, as highlighted by the Ontario science table, suggest 10 per cent of unvaccinated people who get infected with COVID-19 will end up with long-term persistent symptoms of the illness.
That number is much less, he said, in vaccinated individuals.
Common symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath and cognitive dysfunction, which Hirji said can result in significant work and family life disruptions. Symptoms often occur within three months of infection, lasting longer than two months with no established treatments.
He referenced a recent European study that examined more than 120,000 patients who had the virus and suffered from months on. The most common symptoms experienced were dyspnea (shortness of breath), followed by anxiety, sleep disorders, depression, difficulty concentrating, anosmia (smell disorder), cognitive impairment, memory deficits, headaches and dizziness.
Other symptoms included abdominal pain, palpitations, nasal congestion, tremors and seizures.
“We’re seeing more and more science coming out highlighting this,” said Hirji. “Real impacts on some people who go on to recover from COVID-19, but there is still a cost to people even if they get COVID-19 and recover.”
In the first year after having the virus, Hirji said, there is an increased risk in having cardiovascular diseases longer term.
“Some of them we’re talking about increases by up to a rate of about 10 per cent. So if you’re looking at something like myocardial infarction, which is basically a heart attack, you add all of these up, you’re coming close to about 100 out of every 1,000 people,” he said.
“There’s significant risk through this.”
Letting the infection spread uncontrolled will have some “pretty significant impacts on us longer term,” with the best options to prevent infection through public health measures and increasing vaccination numbers.
In Niagara, the vaccination intake isn’t as high as it was in the past but have been holding steady at about 1,000 doses provided each day, Hirji said. The majority are third and fourth doses, but he said over the past two weeks, public health has administered 600 first doses and 750 second doses.
“While those aren’t huge numbers, we’re still making incremental progress on those first and second doses, which are, of course, the most important doses people are able to get,” he said.
“Hopefully, we’re able to continue to make that progress and if we can continue emphasizing the importance of vaccination, especially to prevent these symptoms of long COVID and make sure people have some protection moving forward.”
On Tuesday, Niagara Health reported the death of two more patients with COVID-19 in its hospital system. One was a Niagara resident.
The hospital had 89 patients admitted with the virus, with 19 being treated primarily for COVID-19, and 69 treated for other conditions. Five patients were being treated for COVID-19 in the intensive care unit.
Niagara Region Public Health reported 1,410 active cases and 22 outbreaks, with 18 in long-term-care and retirement homes and five in hospital.