Dr. Samuel McConkey:

I think the question about long-term Covid symptoms was directed at me. I am probably a rather conservative, nerdy, scientific type of doctor and I like to see the evidence for long-term lung scarring, long-term brain effects, long-term cardiac, respiratory and other damage. We are running a study in Beaumont conducting long-term Covid follow-up of the several hundred patients we looked after. Distinguishing what is due to being very sick in intensive care and can happen after any serious life-threatening infection from Covid-specific damage can be challenging. Certainly in the five or six media things I do every day I have not been going on about long-term Covid, because I am not confident yet as to how much unique difference there is and I do not know the frequencies. It is an evolving story as to how people will be one or five years after Covid. We do not know that because nobody has been one or five years after Covid yet. I am intrinsically not a PR messaging person. I am more cautious and trying to be fact-based as a scientist.