Latest research shows that post-COVID-19 effects are no worse than flu and other respiratory diseases.
A top health official from Queensland, Australia has claimed that the term ‘long COVID’ is harmful and misleading.
Chief Health Officer of the State, Dr John Gerrard, the lead author of the study said, “We believe it is time to stop using terms like long COVID.”
He claimed, “This terminology can cause unnecessary fear, and in some cases, hypervigilance to longer symptoms that can impede recovery.”
In this study 5,112 adults with respiratory illness symptoms went through PCR testing in between May and June 2022.
2,399 participants tested positive for COVID and 995 tested positive for influenza. The rest of the 1,718 tested negative for any of these viruses.
A year later the participants were asked about the symptoms.
As per The Guardian, “The 3% of the study participants who had ongoing impairments after COVID-19 infection was similar to the 3.4% with ongoing impairment after influenza.”
According to the study, after a year the participants with flu had a higher rate of impairment.
In a press conference on Friday Dr Gerrard said, "I want to make it clear that the symptoms that some patients described after having COVID-19 are real, and we believe they are real."
"What we are saying is that the incidence of these symptoms is no greater in COVID-19 than it is with other respiratory viruses, and that to use this term 'long COVID' is misleading and I believe harmful."
