6 September 2022

Specialist physicians and paediatricians have welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement that there will be an Inquiry into long COVID and we are pleased to see it will be led by paediatrician and member for Macarthur Dr Mike Freelander FRACP. 

The RACP says it is concerned about the impact of long COVID and says the consequences of repeated COVID-19 infection is still unknown. 

RACP President Dr Jacqueline Small says “There is no test for long COVID, which makes diagnosis difficult. 

“Once diagnosed, the pathway to recovery is still unclear and there is an urgent need for research into long COVID and its impacts. 

“For some doctors, managing patients with long COVID  can feel like putting together the puzzle pieces without always having the full picture.” 

It is estimated that about 5% of all people who have had COVID in Australia will develop long COVID.

“The impact on health care workers should also be considered by the inquiry. Health professionals will be among those diagnosed with long covid, and it’s critically important that they are supported to access care and return to work.  Our health system relies on a healthy workforce..

As of 2 September 2022, there have been a total of 10,053,456 cases in Australia since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There could be as many as 500,000 Australians living with long COVID and yet we still don’t have all the answers that we need to properly diagnose and treat it. 

“There is limited access to long COVID clinics, particularly those in remote and rural areas, as most clinics are metropolitan based. 

“We hope that a result of the Inquiry is an expansion of these COVID clinics, particularly in regional centres. 

“Health practitioners need increased support to be able to identify and treat long COVID. 

“A national inquiry is a great place to start looking at the impacts of long COVID and the need to improve resources for health practitioners.” Dr Small said.