18 May 2022 | News
The Ministry of Health in New Zealand is currently reviewing its framework for services for people with Long COVID
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The shadow of lasting illness could be with us for decades once the acute phase of the COVID‑19 pandemic has passed, the convenor of a University of Otago symposium on Post-Acute COVID‑19 Syndrome (PACS) is warning.
Dr Rob Griffiths, from the University of Otago, in New Zealand, says with at least one in five people expected to experience symptoms more than three months after being infected with COVID‑19, government agencies should urgently develop plans to provide ongoing support.
The online symposium, Long COVID: Journeying together through the fog, which is being held on Zoom on Wednesday 25 May from 9.30am to 4pm, will bring together a range of experts who will share the latest information on the condition.
The symposium is being organised by Te Whare Whakamātūtū, the Rehabilitation Teaching and Research Unit in the Department of Medicine at the University of Otago, Wellington, in collaboration with Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington and AUT’s Centre for Person Centred Research.
Dr Griffiths says the United States is setting up Post-COVID outpatient centres all over the country and New Zealand needs to put a similar effort into establishing services to provide care, education and support for those with Long COVID.