The prevalence of long COVID is more than a hundred times greater than the definition of a rare disease – yet there are no specific health services or support.
- Professor of Public Health, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University
Hospitalisations and deaths attributed to COVID have dropped significantly since a peak in 2022. But a new variant could still reverse the trend quickly.
New Zealand has a poor record when it comes to banning carcinogenic products, even though cancer accounts for about half of 750-900 annual deaths from diseases caused by occupational exposure.
Many people with long COVID experience persistent debilitating symptoms like fatigue and brain fog. But a few develop more life-threatening and lasting damage to their heart and brain.
New Zealand’s proportion of reinfections is now at 17% of new cases. As new variants continue to proliferate, vaccine boosters would protect those most vulnerable and reduce the risk of long COVID.
Older people with COVID are at higher risk of a new Alzheimer’s diagnosis within a year of testing positive. Vaccination against viral infection remains one of several important preventative measures.
SARS-CoV-2 is not the first virus to cause unexplained chronic illness, but the sheer size of this pandemic means more people will develop long COVID.
Studies show long COVID is common enough to be a major public-health threat. It can damage the brain and other organs and may remain silent during childhood but cause chronic disease in later life.
New Zealand is already using self-screening kits for bowel cancer. Giving women the opportunity to self-test for cervical cancer at home will improve equity and lift participation.
If COVID-19 becomes endemic, we’ll see multiple local outbreaks. Schools and businesses will close for days because too many people are sick. Local hospitals will be overwhelmed without warning.
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