Researchers at University of Auckland are launching a long-COVID registry in the hope of painting an accurate picture of the burden of the debilitating illness in New Zealand.

The registry, Mātauranga Raranga, asks people to confidentially provide information about their experiences relating to long-COVID which will be used to accurately report on the condition. 

The registry will be the first time New Zealand researchers will be able to quantify the broad burden of long-COVID.

Participants, who may or may not have a formal diagnosis, will be guided through a survey covering topics such as demographics, symptoms and their duration, vaccine status, impacts on employment or ability to carry out caring duties, expenses involved, and impacts on family.

Another important aspect of the research is seeing how deprivation impacts on people’s experiences of long-COVID. The registry will provide hard data on the number of people suffering from the debilitating disease and their experience, which will facilitate meaningful support.