Even a conservative estimate puts the number of New Zealanders suffering from Long Covid at more than 250,000 people, Massey University's John Potter tells RNZ's Morning Report.
He was being interviewed about the Briefing Long Covid Update – a threat that continues to demand a strong response that brings together the evolving evidence. Prof Potter says the risks demand a prevention and management response from the Government.
The Briefing also says Long Covid can also lead to a 'substantially increased' risk of sudden death and 'silent' damage to cells and organs which can lead to later illness.
"Certainly the silent organ damage is a real problem, we think, for future development of disease. When you're young and healthy, you can take a certain amount of damage to the system without it showing up.
"But as people age, their capacity to buffer against that particular set of damage might decline and we might see increased risk of other symptoms, particularly heart, lung, brain, emerging in people's fifties and sixties," John Potter tells RNZ.
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