Health experts say ‘long COVID’ doesn’t exist, term ‘can cause unnecessary fear’

Australian medical researchers who are backed by the government want people to stop using the term after a newly released study found that those who tested positive for coronavirus did not have a prolonged increased level of impairment compared to those who simply had the flu, The New York Post reported.

"They wrongly imply there is something unique and exceptional about longer-term symptoms associated with this virus," said Dr. John Gerrard, Queensland's chief health officer, who oversaw the study.

"We believe it is time to stop using terms like 'long COVID,'" he continued. "This terminology can cause unnecessary fear, and in some cases, hyper-vigilance to longer symptoms that can impede recovery."

The study was conducted in Spring 2022 and concluded one year later. Researchers surveyed a group of 5,112 Australians aged 18 and up who had tested both positive and negative for COVID-19. The symptoms they reported to have had included fatigue, brain fog, cough, shortness of breath, change to smell and taste, dizziness, and rapid or irregular heartbeat, which are symptoms that have been used to diagnose "long COVID."

The group was quizzed one year later on their symptoms and quality of life. Researchers came to the conclusion that there was no evidence that individuals with positive coronavirus tests experienced increased symptoms than those with negative tests or those who were just sick with the flu.

Due to the authoritarian measures put in place by the Australian government during the pandemic, the study found that rates of diagnosed "long COVID" were lower than in other nations.

The study will be presented next month at the annual European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Barcelona.