For some people infected with the coronavirus (COVID-19), symptoms may persist for weeks or months following infection, commonly referred to as "long COVID". The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published a monthly estimate of the population prevalence of self-reported long COVID since 1 April 2021, and will continue to do so going forwards.
Following the monthly population prevalence release on 2 September 2021, two further pieces of analysis relating to long COVID are scheduled for publication in September:
Updated estimates of the prevalence of post-acute symptoms among people with coronavirus (COVID-19) in the UK (planned for 16 September 2021): this release will update experimental estimates of the percentage of people with symptoms at 5 and 12 weeks after infection published on 1 April 2021, incorporating the longer follow-up time accrued by study participants and refined statistical methodology
COVID-19 vaccination and self-reported long COVID (planned for 29 September 20201): this will be our first analysis on this subject, with experimental estimates obtained from statistical modelling of longitudinal survey responses, focusing on participants already infected prior to vaccination
Long COVID is an emerging phenomenon that is not yet fully understood; all our forthcoming releases will therefore remain experimental and our analysis plans will be frequently reviewed to take account of the scientific evidence as it evolves. We will continue to collaborate with partners across academia, clinical practice, patient representatives and government to develop and implement our research plans. At present, we intend to:
Explore possible socio-demographic and clinical risk factors for self-reported long COVID
Quantify the incidence of organ impairment and other adverse outcomes following coronavirus infection
These are complex pieces of analysis requiring multiple linked data sources, and publication dates will be pre-announced on the ONS release calendar at the appropriate time.
For more information or to share your views on our plans, please email health.data@ons.gov.uk quoting "long COVID" in the subject line.