I'm one of 14 researchers and clinicians who co-authored this piece, a comprehensive view on the impact of #LongCovid and what needs to be done now to reduce the social, economic and health impacts it is having on Aotearoa NZ. The purpose of this paper is not to scare monger, but to clearly articulate the state of play - which is not being widely addressed and due to Covid's 'unpopularity', often swept under the carpet or denied. By now, everyone knows someone who is impacted - every single day people come up to me and tell me about a person in their life who is struggling with their health. Whilst many people have health challenges, what's different about this one is the level of disinterest that has been applied since its politicalisation. Nobody (either side of the political divide) wants to acknowledge it or address it, let alone resolve it. It's deemed too onerous and this elephant is going to take up all the room if we don't look at it. Those impacted are experiencing appalling quality of life drops - the research clearly shows that they are struggling for survival. We simply must get over our culture barrier to Covid and start to address this. This isn't going away. >>>>As a newbie to academia, it has been a pleasure to work with a group of highly intelligent, committed and empathetic individuals who at their very core care about community and public health. They think about inequities and how we can ensure a higher standard of care and quality of life for all New Zealander's. I am told that cross-university collaboration is quite rare - and yet that is all that I have ever witnessed across the last four years (this study included).
A new study of Long-Covid shows the virus can cause a wide range of debilitating side effects and even life-threatening conditions that could have serious implications for the entire health system. We can already see the health, social & economic impacts of #LongCovid. But there is much more to come, warns public health expert Amanda Kvalsvig, and we need a plan to address this public health challenge effectively—now. https://lnkd.in/giDFpk-G
Scottie Chapman
8mo
Great work team. As much as we would love to ignore covid, being an ostrich and pretended it’s done will just lead to more suboptimal health outcomes for many.
CFO Douglas Pharma | Deputy Chair Hospice West Auckland
8moGreat work. I've come across this research paper. Might be of interest to anyone impacted? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8782421/#:~:text=Citicoline%20has%20an%20influential%20role,the%20neurotransmitter%20synthesis%20of%20acetylcholine.