Sick and tired: Long COVID inquiry report released

By KeRRI e DAVI e S

ANATIONAL long COVID and COVID-19 database is among the key recommendations of a unanimous report released this week by a parliamentary Committee for its inquiry into long COVID and repeated COVID infections.

The House of Representative’s Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport’s report aims to improve Australia’s response to long COVID, an often-debilitating condition possibly affecting hundreds of thousands of Australians.

The Chair of the Committee, Dr Mike Freelander MP said the condition was a challenge for health care professionals.

“It is clear that the emergence of long COVID has created challenges for patients and health care professionals alike. People with long COVID suffer from a lack of information and treatment options. Health care professionals, who worked tirelessly over the acute phase of the pandemic, are now in a difficult situation trying to support patients with this new and poorly understood condition,” Dr Freelander said.

The Deputy Chair of the Committee is Lindsay MP Mrs Melissa McIntosh.

“Throughout the inquiry, the Committee heard from hundreds of Australians about what it is like to live with long COVID and how the condition impacts their daily lives. The Committee was particularly concerned to hear that long COVID is associated with poor mental health. The Committee heard that many individuals with long COVID feel isolated, disbelieved, anxious or depressed,” Mrs McIntosh said.

The Committee made nine unanimous recommendations aimed at strengthening the Australian Government’s management of long COVID, including regarding:

• A definition of long COVID for use in Australia

• Evidence-based living guidelines for long COVID, co-designed with patients with lived experience

• A nationally coordinated research program for long COVID and COVID-19

• The COVID-19 vaccination communication strategy

• Access to antiviral treatments for COVID-19

• Support for primary healthcare providers

• Indoor air quality and ventilation.

Over the course of the inquiry, the Committee held four public hearings and received almost 600 submissions from individuals, organisations and government bodies.

The Committee wishes to sincerely thank everyone who provided written submissions and gave evidence at public hearings. The Committee is particularly appreciative of the time taken by many people who, despite being personally impacted by long COVID, have gone to considerable effort to contribute to this inquiry.

The report and further information about the Committee can be found on its website.

Melissa Mcintosh has had a personal experience with Long COVID.

“When I nominated Long COVID as the first inquiry of the Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport for the 47th Parliament, I did so because of my own experience with persistent symptoms after contracting COVID in April 2022, where I wasn’t able to find adequate information about what I was experiencing in the public sphere, and I wasn’t alone in this,” Ms McIntosh said.

“I have also come to realise the relatively shortlived symptoms I had of breathlessness and fatigue were very mild compared to how much some people are suffering from Long COVID around the country, so sick they can barely get out of bed, many months after the onset of their symptoms. Long COVID is having a major impact on lives and livelihoods.

“Not too long after we started the Long COVID Inquiry, my very athletic and healthy 19-year-old son, Byron was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. It is well known that certain viruses can trigger Type 1 which is an autoimmune disease, and the only known virus that Byron had before diagnosis was COVID. When Byron was diagnosed in October 2022, there was very little data on whether it was plausible that COVID caused it, but reports were starting to surface that globally there had been a surge in the Type 1 Diabetes amongst children and adolescents.

“Six months later, research is showing the correlation between COVID and Type 1, and we were provided evidence on this during the Inquiry. The increased prevalence of disease is not just reflected in more cases of Type 1 Diabetes. The information on what COVID can do to your body makes for less than light bedtime reading.

“The Committee made a recommendation to the Australian Government that funding is required for coordinated and thorough research into Long COVID. As Deputy Chair of the Committee, I would highly encourage this includes research into the serious diseases that are developing in people that have contracted COVID. It’s a public health imperative.

“The Committee has recommended mental health support for those with Long COVID must be provided in an affordable, timely and equitable manner, and I would like to see the Australian Government prioritise this recommendation. We are experiencing a mental health crisis in this country, and the seriousness of this should not be underestimated or ignored.”