Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Regarding the clinical approach, the HSE is using the UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, NICE, guidelines in defining long Covid. The HSE says that long Covid is characterised by symptoms that develop during or after an infection consistent with Covid-19, persist beyond 12 weeks and are not attributable to a different diagnosis. As the Deputy is aware, there is a great deal of uncertainty in the international literature about how many people experience prolonged symptoms, but as he has consistently and rightly stated, the initial indications are sobering. While the published international reports vary, our best current understanding is that between 10% and 20% of Covid-19 patients experience lingering symptoms for weeks or, sometimes, months.

As the Deputy rightly said, it is a very significant number of people. The clinicians are at present working through what portion of those people will require ongoing clinical supports. The HSE is now putting a patient registry and an epidemiological survey in place to help with that.

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