65 per cent of Indians have 1 or more individuals in their close network who experienced long COVID: LocalCircles

8 per cent Indians have close contacts for whom COVID induced conditions have persisted for over a year or become permanent

The COVID virus can lead to levels of damage physically, mentally and emotionally even after recovery, which means that the individual might be suffering from a condition called Long COVID. There has been an increase in discussion among people on LocalCircles platform sharing how they or someone in their social network are facing Long COVID. One of the LocalCircles members’ shared with the community that even after recovering from COVID, they have been living with headaches with a weird fuzzy sensation, pain in the center of the chest, heart pounding, fatigue range from being mild, with bone-deep exhaustion that lasts for days that overall trigger stress physically, mentally, emotionally, and other depressive episodes. Another member shared that post-COVID, they’d have fluctuating Long COVID symptoms, however, mild with no recurring fevers, fainting, GI issues, neuropathy, breathing difficulty, or extended periods of being unable to get out of bed.

The latest research by the Washington University School of Medicine, which analysed long-term effects in people’s hearts found that people who have had COVID are at increased risk of developing cardiovascular complications within the first month to a year after infection. Such complications include disruptive heart rhythms, inflammation of the heart, blood clots, stroke, coronary artery disease, heart attack, heart failure or even death, it added. The number of citizens experiencing these symptoms has increased considerable since the 2^nd wave. The journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) recently reported that people who required ICU care during COVID treatment continued to have physical psychological symptoms for over a year. Of those, 74 per cent patients reported physical symptoms like weakness, joint pain and 26% reported mental symptoms as anxiety and depression while 16 per cent complained of cognitive symptoms. Per medical experts in India, physical symptoms are common among those with severe illnesses.

By not knowing how much longer Long COVID would last and what long-term effects it would have on an individual’s life can trigger serious health issues. A medical journal BMJ Open conducted a study, titled “Multiorgan impairment in low-risk individuals with post-COVID-19 syndrome: a prospective, community-based study”, and concluded that in individuals at low-risk of COVID-19 mortality with ongoing symptoms, 70% have impairment in 1 or more organs 4 months after initial COVID-19 symptoms. According to studies, not only do the lingering effects of COVID last for months after the virus subsides, but it also cuts across multiple organs like scarring of lungs, temporary loss of vision, cardiac arrest, acute kidney injury, spike in blood sugar levels, crippling joining pains, intestinal ulcers, loss of memory, painful periods in women, notwithstanding mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and panic attacks. Researchers from Zurich have found that low levels of certain antibodies were common in people who developed Long COVID.

Taking cognisance of the issues reported, LocalCircles conducted a study to understand from citizens about the prevalence of Long COVID syndrome on individuals in their close social network who had been infected by the virus. It also sought to know the duration it took from them to recover fully, partially or if the symptoms have been permanent. The survey received more than 19,500 responses from citizens across 327 districts of India. 68 per cent respondents were men while 32 per cent respondents were women. 47 per cent respondents were from tier 1, 33 per cent from tier 2 and 20 per cent were from tier 3, 4 and rural districts.

In summary, the survey indicates that 65 per cent of those surveyed have 1 or more individuals in their close network (including themselves, family, friends, colleagues, neighbours) who experienced Long COVID where 1 or more symptoms like fatigue, joint pain, muscle pain, cough, shortness of breath, concentration or sleep problems persisted weeks after the initial recovery period. This highlights the intensity of the disease and the severity of its attack on many individuals. While 82 per cent of these individuals surveyed said their contacts suffering from long COVID recovered fully within 6 months, for 6 per cent of them the recovery took 6 months to a year and for 8 per cent of them the COVID induced conditions have become permanent.