Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Six in 10 people with long Covid have had symptoms for a year, figures suggest

More than a third say they have suffered long Covid for at least two years.

Ian Jones
Thursday 02 February 2023 07:13 EST
Around six in 10 people with long Covid in the UK are likely to have been suffering the symptoms for a year or more, figures suggest (Danny Lawson/PA)
Around six in 10 people with long Covid in the UK are likely to have been suffering the symptoms for a year or more, figures suggest (Danny Lawson/PA) (PA Archive)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Around six in 10 people with long Covid in the UK are likely to have been suffering the symptoms for a year or more, figures suggest.

Some 1.2 million of those with long Covid are estimated to have first tested positive for the virus at least 12 months ago.

This is 61% of everyone likely to have symptoms at the start of this year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The figure is up from 57% in December and 46% in September.

The latest estimates are based on self-reported long Covid from a representative sample of people in private households in the UK in the four weeks to January 2.

They show the overall number of people with long Covid has dropped slightly month-on-month, from 2.1 million to 2.0 million.

But a growing proportion of this total is made up by people who have had symptoms for a long period.

While 61% said they first had Covid-19, or suspected they had the virus, at least one year previously, 35% said it was at least two years ago – up from 30% in December and 22% in September.

A report published in December by the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee said it was “unclear” what impact long Covid might be having on the growing number of economically inactive people in the UK – those not in work or looking for work – and recommended further studies be carried out to understand the impact of long-term sickness on employment levels.

Prevalence of long Covid continues to vary by age and occupation.

An estimated 4.6% of 50 to 69-year-olds are currently likely to be suffering from long Covid, the highest proportion of any age group.

This compares with 1.8% of people aged 17-24 and 1.0% of 12-16 year-olds.

People working in social care reported the highest prevalence of long Covid among employment groups (5.7%), followed by civil servants and local government staff (4.8%).

Levels were lower among occupations such as financial services (2.7%) and hospitality (2.9%).

Long Covid is likely to be adversely affecting the day-to-day activities of 1.5 million people – 77% of those with self-reported long Covid – with 380,000 (19%) saying their ability to undertake day-to-day activities has been “limited a lot”, the ONS found.

Fatigue is the most common symptom (experienced by 71% of those with long Covid), followed by difficulty concentrating (52%), shortness of breath (48%) and muscle ache (47%).

There is no standard measure for long Covid, with the ONS using a definition based on symptoms that have persisted for more than four weeks after a first suspected coronavirus infection, where the symptoms could not be explained by something else.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in