More than a million people in the UK have had long Covid for at least a year, figures suggest. And half of that have had it for at least two.
A total of 2.3 million people across the country are now estimated to be suffering from long Covid, or 3.5% of the population. This includes around one in 20 people aged 35 to 69.
The survey was published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Its figures were based on self-reported long Covid from a sample of people which also suggested sharp differences depending on age groups and even occupations.
An estimated 5% - around one in 20 - of 35-69 year-olds are likely to be suffering from long Covid, compared with 3.6% of 25-34 year-olds, 2.9% of people aged 70 and over and 2.7% of 17-24 year-olds. And those working in social care reported the highest prevalence of long Covid among employment groups (5.5%), followed by civil servants and local government staff (5.2%) and health care employees and teachers (5%).
Levels were lower among occupations such as financial services (3.4%), hospitality (3.5%) and information technology (3.8%). Of those with self-reported long covid, 342,000 saying their ability to undertake day-to-day activities has been “limited a lot”, the ONS found.
Fatigue is the most common symptom (69%) followed by difficulty concentrating (45%), shortness of breath (42%) and muscle ache (40%). The ONS based the figures on symptoms that have persisted for more than four weeks after a first suspected coronavirus infection, where the symptoms could not be explained by something else.
