Multi-disciplinary team to monitor long COVID patients

Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony on Thursday announced that a multi-disciplinary team would be established to analyse the condition and treat recovered patients suffering from long COVID – a condition whereby persons continue to experience symptoms months after infection.

The unit will be established at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) and will be replicated at other regional hospitals based on the patient load.
“Because of how many persons have recovered and we have been hearing many things, what we are in the process of organising is a multi-disciplinary team to provide care for long COVID patients…This is going to be a multi-disciplinary team, ‘cause what we’re seeing with COVID is that it can affect any one of the organs in the body or sometimes several organs in the body simultaneously. Therefore, you need this multi-disciplinary team to assist with the management of some of these patients,” said Dr Anthony.
While some may experience little to no symptoms, others suffer severe symptoms that linger months after recovery. Lasting symptoms associated with the coronavirus can range from fatigue, breathlessness, chest pains, joint or muscle pains, palpitations, anxiety or depression.
Studies have shown that COVID-19 can affect the respiratory and digestive systems, brain, kidneys, and skin. There are cases where heart complications have arisen.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), most people suffering from the coronavirus experience mild to moderate illness. Some 10 to 15 per cent of the cases progress to severe illness and five per cent become critically ill.
It states, “For some people, some symptoms may linger or recur for weeks or months following initial recovery. This can also happen in people with mild disease. People are not infectious to others during this time. Some patients develop medical complications that may have lasting health effects.”
The WHO pointed out that there were many case reports whereby patients did not regain their previous state of well-being after recovering. Risk factors for the persistence of symptoms can vary from high blood pressure and obesity to mental health conditions. However, it indicated that more research and time are needed to understand the long-term effects, why symptoms recur and the likelihood of full recovery.

Vaccination
On Wednesday, the Health Ministry hit a new record with its vaccination campaign after more than 5000 persons turned up to receive their COVID-19 vaccines. Of the 5240 shots administered – 951 were to children, 1694 were first doses and 2595 second doses.
“Yesterday (Wednesday), we had record numbers of vaccination. We recorded 5240 persons receiving their vaccination so I would say that is a record high for us and I hope this trend continues…I think we had a very successful day yesterday in terms of vaccination,” he expressed.
He reiterated that children under 12 years of age can only be immunised when vaccines are approved for this age category. Until then, parents have been urged to ensure that their children are following the safety guidelines and measures to protect themselves. This is especially important for children suffering from illnesses or comorbidities.
“Until we see that approval, we’ll be confined more to the 12 to under 18…Everybody has to be on board. Without everybody on board and taking this seriously, we are going to see infections. For those children who would have comorbidities, meaning some underlying illnesses, those children should take extra precautions because they are vulnerable,” the Minister warned.
Meanwhile, to date, 316, 973 persons or 61.8 per cent of Guyana’s adult population have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. A total of 165, 401 persons or 32.2 per cent of the country’s adult population have received both doses. (G12)