'I used to run marathons, now I can't walk more than 200m and I've lost my job': Patients STILL battling long Covid nearly two years on

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

In June 2020, the Manchester Evening News spoke to five patients who were suffering from the debilitating effects of long Covid.

They shared the daily impact of their range of symptoms, which appeared weeks after initial infection with the virus. Headaches, fevers, breathlessness, palpitations, muscle aches, rashes, fatigue.

Six months later, we contacted them again. Although some reported improvements, the majority were still struggling.

READ MORE: Long Covid symptoms to look out for as third of school staff and 10% of secondary pupils affected

It's now nearly 20 months since those first interviews and we have returned again for an update, hoping to hear of steady recoveries and a return to 'normal' life.

There is hope - an epidemiologist who struggled for months with the condition describes a 'light bulb moment' which has led to a near-full recovery.

Yet for many, the intervening months have been a slog as they flounder in the fog of long Covid.

More than one patient described a process of ‘grief’ to let go of the old versions of themselves; to accept a new life where planning around energy levels is a must and getting help for even basic tasks is a need.

What stood out is a perception that not enough is being done to research the condition.

The Government, meanwhile, says they have invested £50m in research, opened 80 long Covid assessment services and launched a £100m plan to expand support in the NHS.

In Greater Manchester, medics say they are learning more every day about how to treat the condition.

According to a study of the virus at carried out last year at Imperial College London, more than two million people in England are thought to be suffering symptoms at least 12 weeks after initial illness.

Fatigue