'This is real': Alberta doctors warn long COVID is not a trivial risk
1.4M Canadian adults have experienced post-COVID symptoms, survey shows
Specialists who treat long COVID patients are urging Albertans to take the threat of infection seriously as worries grow about yet another COVID-19 surge in this province.
A national survey by Statistics Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada shows 14.8 per cent of Canadian adults who either tested positive for COVID or suspected an infection reported having symptoms at least three months later.
That translates into about 1.4 million people, or 4.6 per cent of Canadians 18 and up.
"This is a risk. And it's not a trivial risk," said Dr. Grace Lam, a respirologist and a co-director of Edmonton's long COVID clinic.
She's watched as the post-COVID symptoms her patients experience have evolved through the pandemic.
"There's a lot more profound brain fog.… It seems to be that neurologic symptoms have become more prevalent.… Fatigue and shortness of breath still [are] quite predominant."
According to the national survey, fatigue, cough, shortness of breath and brain fog are the most common ongoing problems.
And Lam believes that while many Albertans are tired of COVID-19, a greater sense of urgency is warranted.
"Compared to where we were — case rates and positivity rates from a year ago — we are actually in a worse position going into this expected spike in the fall," she said.
"The only sure fire way of protecting yourself from long COVID is to avoid getting COVID in the first place"
'This is real'
Dr. Jillian Walsh, an internal medicine physician who treats long COVID patients in Calgary, wants Albertans to understand these statistics.
"It goes to show this is not a little problem. And having so many people have symptoms, it means that this is real," she said.
"I never doubted it was real. But there's a lot of people that don't believe it exists."
Walsh treats some patients who are "completely debilitated' and no longer able to work because they're plagued by problems such as fatigue, a racing heart and shortness of breath.
"At some point, society has to decide what kind of risk is acceptable to them, right?" she said.
"Maybe we need to do a better job of putting out there how detrimental it can be to the lives of some people so that they're knowledgeable about what risk they're accepting."
Doctors urge masks, vaccinations
The report reveals a reduction in the number of Canadians reporting long-lasting symptoms with the arrival of Omicron. Prior to last December, 25.8 per cent reported ongoing symptoms. After the emergence of the Omicron variant, it dropped to 10.5 per cent.
"I don't think … we should become complacent," said Walsh. "I can't say that it's less in terms of the degree of symptoms. It's just less in terms of the number of people who have them."
It's unclear, Walsh added, how the SARS-CoV-2 virus will mutate next and how future variants will play out.
"Vaccinations [and] masks are like wearing a seatbelt in a car. You may not be able to prevent the accident because you can't control what other people do fully. But we're going to lessen the effect of the accident if you take those things into consideration."
Living with such widespread unresolved illness has a number of key implications, according to Dr. Neeja Bakshi, an internal medicine specialist who runs her own long COVID clinic in Sherwood Park.
"We certainly don't have enough physicians and resources to support all those that are dealing with long COVID," she said.
According to Bakshi, Albertans with post-COVID symptoms often end up seeking treatment in emergency rooms or require more frequent visits with their primary care provider.
There are also impacts on the economy and workforce
"I spend probably half of my days filling out disability forms. It's a part of my practice that I didn't really anticipate being this dramatic," she said, noting some of her patients have been unable to work for two years.
Bakshi is worried about what's to come.
"I think what we're seeing now, particularly within this last two to three weeks, is a significant number of people with COVID again.… Probably by the end of December [or] early January, we're going to see that rush of referrals again."
There is already so much demand, Bakshi's wait-list is booking into March 2023.
"The volume is something that we're not going to be able to keep up with."
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