Nearly 400,000 people have long Covid for a year or more, figures suggest

An estimated 380,000 people in the UK have experienced long Covid for at least a year, new figures suggest.

This is broadly unchanged on an estimate of 385,000 people in a similar survey carried out one month earlier.

The figures, from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), are based on responses collected from people in private households in the four weeks to July 4.

An estimated 945,000 people experienced self-reported long COVID in the 4 weeks to 4 July (where symptoms persisted more than 4 weeks after the first suspected infection) https://t.co/syI7sHhq0P pic.twitter.com/8j3MVYaRq0

— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) August 5, 2021

They also suggest a total of 945,000 people in the UK experienced long Covid in the period of the survey, defined as symptoms persisting for more than four weeks after their first suspected coronavirus infection.

This is down slightly from 962,000 in the previous survey.

Long Covid was estimated to be adversely affecting the day-to-day activities of 611,000 people – just under two-thirds of those with self-reported long Covid – with 182,000 reporting that their ability to undertake day-to-day activities had been “limited a lot”, the ONS said.

Self-reported long COVID was most likely among people

▪️ aged 35 to 69▪ wh️o are female▪️ living in the most deprived areas▪️ working in health or social care▪️ with another health condition or disability

➡️https://t.co/e4D4R96duC pic.twitter.com/S7z5K9tINA

— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) August 5, 2021

Fatigue was the most common symptom reported as part of an individual’s experience of long Covid (528,000 people), followed by shortness of breath (388,000), muscle ache (296,000) and loss of smell (285,000).

Prevalence of self-reported long Covid was greatest in people aged 35 to 69, females, those living in the most deprived areas, those working in health or social care and those with another activity-limiting health condition or disability, the ONS found.

There is no universally agreed definition of long Covid, but it covers a broad range of symptoms such as fatigue, muscle pain and difficulty concentrating.