2024-2025 Preliminary Estimates of COVID-19 Burden

Largest study of its kind into Long Covid in children and teenagers indicates which symptoms are most likely to last and for how long, revealing that most young people should eventually recover

A 24-month study reveals that 7.2% of children consistently experience long-COVID symptoms, with tiredness, sleep issues, and headaches most commonly reported, highlighting the need for targeted interventions.

Apart from impaired lung function, participants also reported dietary changes, psychiatric changes and sleep disturbances, for which separate studies are ongoing

Most people under 18 who develop long covid recover within two years, although almost a third continue to be affected by the condition, a study has found. Researchers from the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (GOS ICH) and several UK universities analysed data on 11-17 year olds who were asked about their health at intervals of three, six, 12, and 24 months after testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 from September 2020 to March 2021. The study, published in Nature Communications Medicine …

Most young people who were confirmed to have long Covid three months after a positive PCR test had recovered within 24 months, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.

Stephenson, Pinto Pereira et al. investigate the proportion of children and young people with Post Covid-19 condition 24-months post-infection. Only 7.2% meet the definition consistently at 3-, 6-, 12- and 24-months post-infection, highlighting the importance of longitudinal studies.

Objectives To examine how long COVID is associated with financial hardship (food insecurity, inability to pay bills, or threat of losing service) across income and education levels, and to assess th...

“In this COVID study with adolescents, we found that approximately 47 percent had long-term sequels, and quite a high percentage of these would fulfil the criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome, which is a debilitating situation.” With his research project

Numerous study participants reported having malaise, fatigue and dizziness six months after their initial COVID infection.

Addressing this health challenge is vital to getting many people back participating fully in their lives.

Patients feel gaslit by their doctors, and there is little - if any - research being funded, critics say.

People suffering from Long Covid have much less paid employment than before they got infected. The percentage of people with salaried work in this group has dropped from 95 percent before their infection to 71 percent two years after it. The average number of work hours also dropped from 31 hours to 18 hours a week. In addition, 69 percent of this group have fallen behind in their studies.

PATIENTS with Long Covid incur more than double the healthcare costs compared to their pre-diagnosis levels, significantly straining the NHS, a new study

Two doses of COVID vaccine before infection was tied to a 24% reduced odds of having long COVID.

Fatigue, cognitive difficulties, and breathlessness are still a daily reality for many. It is particularly acute in poorer communities

A growing body of evidence suggests those in the low- and middle-income brackets are more likely to develop long COVID-19, to suffer longer with its symptoms and to endure job loss, eviction and other serious consequences because of it.

Despite afflicting more than 400 million people worldwide, the constellation of symptoms known as long COVID still confounds doctors and patients

NHS efforts to avoid winter ‘tripledemic' will see more than 300 jabs a minute given to people across Britain.

Millions worldwide are living with long COVID. Since therapeutic research is ongoing, long COVID prevention is a pragmatic public health strategy. While prior analyses have shown the benefit of primary vaccination, the effect of booster vaccination on preventing long COVID caused by an Omicron infection has not been fully investigated. This systematic review identified 31 observational studies, among which 11 were deemed suitable for pairwise meta-analyses. Herein, the pooled risk of long COVID was 22–29% ( P 0.0001 and P 0.0001, respectively) lower for vaccinated (any vaccination) populations versus unvaccinated (10 studies); 19% ( P 0.0001) lower for primary course vaccination versus no vaccination (3 studies); 26% ( P 0.0001) lower for booster vaccination versus no vaccination (4 studies) and 23% ( P =0.0044) lower for booster vaccination versus primary course vaccination (3 studies). These findings indicate that booster vaccination can provide additional protection against long COVID; thereby, highlighting the importance of seasonal vaccination against new SARS-CoV-2 variants. ### Competing Interest Statement SA is an employee of BioNTech SE. RG and ZM are employees of Maverex Ltd both of whom received consulting fees from BioNTech SE. GYHL: Consultant and speaker for BMS/Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Daiichi Sankyo, and Anthos. No fees were received personally. He is a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Senior Investigator. MJP has received consulting fees from Gilead Sciences, AstraZeneca, BioVie, Apellis Pharmaceuticals, and BioNTech and research support from Aerium Therapeutics and Shionogi, outside the submitted work. AB: Consultant for Perspectum. Speaker for Shionogi and Pfizer. BD: BioNTech; one-off advisory board on long COVID in 2024. ### Funding Statement This study was funded by BioNTech SE. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: References for data used for the meta-analyses in this study: 1Congdon, S. et al. Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir and risk of long COVID symptoms: a retrospective cohort study. Sci Rep 13, 19688 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-46912-4 2Di Fusco, M. et al. Impact of COVID-19 and effects of booster vaccination with BNT162b2 on six-month long COVID symptoms, quality of life, work productivity and activity impairment during Omicron. J Patient Rep Outcomes 7, 77 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41687-023-00616-5 3Diexer, S. et al. Association between virus variants, vaccination, previous infections, and post-COVID-19 risk. Int J Infect Dis 136, 14-21 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2023.08.019 4Hammel, I. S., Tosi, D. M., Tang, F., Pott, H. & Ruiz, J. G. Frailty as a risk factor for post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 among US veterans during the Delta and Omicron waves. J Am Geriatr Soc 71, 3826-3835 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.18584 5Li, J., Nadua, K., Chong, C. Y. & Yung, C. F. Long COVID prevalence, risk factors and impact of vaccination in the paediatric population: a survey study in Singapore. Ann Acad Med Singap 52, 522-532 (2023). https://doi.org/10.47102/annals-acadmedsg.2023238 6Lundberg-Morris, L. et al. Covid-19 vaccine effectiveness against post-covid-19 condition among 589 722 individuals in Sweden: population based cohort study. BMJ 383, e076990 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2023-076990 7Mazzitelli, M. et al. Risk of hospitalization and sequelae in patients with COVID-19 treated with 3-day early remdesivir vs. controls in the vaccine and Omicron era: A real-life cohort study. J Med Virol 95, e28660 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.28660 8Razzaghi, H. et al. Vaccine effectiveness against long COVID in children. Pediatrics 153 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2023-064446 9Wander, P. L. et al. Rates of ICD-10 Code U09.9 documentation and clinical characteristics of VA patients with post-COVID-19 condition. JAMA Netw Open 6, e2346783 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.46783 10Wu, Q. et al. Real-world effectiveness and causal mediation study of BNT162b2 on long COVID risks in children and adolescents. medRxiv (2024). 11Antonelli, M. et al. SARS-CoV-2 infection following booster vaccination: Illness and symptom profile in a prospective, observational community-based case-control study. J Infect 87, 506-515 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2023.08.009 I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Worldwide, the condition is estimated to have an annual economic impact of approximately $1 trillion, around 1 percent of the global economy.

The share of education workers who apply for a WIA benefit due to long-term covid has increased significantly in percentage terms in one year. From 7,7 percent in 2022 to 18 percent in 2023, according to new figures from benefits agency UWV. With this share, the education sector is well above the average of 7 percent.

Data is more than numbers on a chart according to graphic designer Dr Giorgia Lupi. Data is a way to tell stories.

Matriculation rates have declined in 26 states, but the full impact of the pandemic’s disruption might not be known for years.

A newly released study finds that one in four Americans may suffer from long COVID, a much higher rate than typically cited. Scientists at Mass General Brigham used a sophisticated AI tool for the peer-reviewed study. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...

More than two million people across the UK are still living with Long Covid, the illness that sparked the Covid pandemic - and with new variants on the rise, many more diagnoses are anticipated

Researchers report that a new AI tool enhances the diagnostic process, potentially identifying more individuals who need care. Previous diagnostic studies estimated that 7 percent of the population suffers from long COVID. However, a new study using an AI tool developed by Mass General Brigham indi

A new study from researchers at Mass General Brigham suggests racial disparities and the difficulty in diagnosing the condition may be leading to a massive undercount.

A new study suggests long Covid is costing the economy billions annually due to lost working days.