To date, the definition of long covid is still not clarified. Even if scientific knowledge is gradually advancing, researchers and scientists consider that there are several types of persistent forms of Covid-19:
- Most patients affected by a long form have a slow decrease in the initial symptoms of the disease and are cured within three months of infection;
- But, in some cases, the initial symptoms, to which may be added other symptoms occurring secondarily, are prolonged more than three months. This is where we talk about long Covid.
With symptoms such as intense fatigue, cognitive disorders (memory, concentration), headaches, breathing difficulties or even sensory disorders (ringing in the ears), the long Covid can have serious consequences on life. social, family or professional of the patient. “It is fluctuating, there are relapses. It can be very disabling “Said Pauline Oustric, president of After J20, long Covid patient association, during a press conference on March 17.
Vaccination against Covid-19 seems to protect against long forms of the disease, in addition to having a positive impact on hospitalizations.
Long Covid: what has been done so far
From the appearance of the first cases of Covid long, the first objective of the Ministry of Health was that each person with persistent symptoms could find a suitable solutionin order to avoid medical wandering as much as possible.
This support network is structured in three levels :
- First, general practitioners at the center of the first-line system;
- Then the city or hospital specialists, who take charge of respiratory, cardiological, neurological or ENT disorders;
- And finally, rehabilitation and rehabilitation care services, for the care of the most complex patients. They would be 70,000 in this case.
Many coordination cells – whose mission is to inform, guide, coordinate – have been created throughout the territory. Training, as well as research to better understand this pathology have also been developed, “but efforts still need to be madee”, says Pauline Oustric.
What the government is planning: a new three-year roadmap
The Minister of Health announced the creation of a group of experts on the long Covid, bringing together, among others, scientists, professionals from the psychosocial sector and representatives of user associations.
A new three-year roadmap has also just been announced, in order to offer a clear response to patients affected by the long Covid. It is based on three main pillars:
- Improving the care of patients with long Covid thanks to the investment of 20 million euros to support the structuring of the long Covid care network and the development of precise diagnostic criteria for long Covid;
- Increase knowledge about the disease by investing an additional 10 million euros in research and estimating by census the number of people affected by a form of long Covid;
- Develop information on the long Covid within the population and health professionals by multiplying the information media and campaigns around the disease and by integrating patient associations in the communication of information on the long Covid.
Sources:
- Press release, Ministry of Solidarity and Health, Thursday March 17.
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- Loss of smell: no, it is not necessarily the Covid
- Loss of smell and Covid-19: the majority of patients recover after two months
