New data from Australia's longest-running post-COVID clinic has revealed a high proportion of patients are women in their 40s and 50s, painting a picture of who might be more affected by this emerging condition.
As the nation faces the prospect of yet another COVID-19 wave, doctors are again warning of the longer-term impacts on people's lives, the health system and the economy.
More than 8.5 million Australians have now had COVID-19 and, while there aren't figures on how many will have long COVID, the World Health Organization estimates 10 to 20 per cent of people will experience ongoing symptoms.
"This is not just a minor disease that's out there," Sharon Wong from Sydney's Nepean Hospital told ABC's 7.30.
"This is a condition with quite severe symptoms that really can have profound impacts on patients' lives."
Dr Wong has been treating long-COVID patients at the hospital's post-COVID service since December last year.
Of the 88 patients, two-thirds were women, most of whom led active lives before they got sick.
While Dr Wong told ABC's 7.30 that it was unclear why women were disproportionately represented in the data, the findings reflect a pattern emerging in overseas research.
Struggling with everyday tasks
Nepean patient Donna Pritchard, 41, has been battling a range of symptoms from a persistent cough to extreme fatigue, for the past six months.
"It's definitely affected my home life," she told ABC's 7.30. "I have four young children. Things like changing beds, trying to do their dinner, trying to keep on top of their washing, things like that, I have to spread out across the week.
"I've only just recently started working [again], but I do find I'm a lot more tired after work because I'm on my feet a lot of the day."
A third of the patients in the Nepean study struggled with everyday household tasks, while about a quarter said they had to cut their work hours or stop altogether.
"If long COVID isn't managed well, then I think what we're facing is a lot of chronic disability out there," Dr Wong said.
"If we can't intervene and meet the needs of our patients early on to get them back to the former levels of function, then I think this could be a very large problem."
Doctors try to crack long-COVID puzzle
There's no cure for long COVID, leaving doctors to use pre-existing treatments to help ease the variety of symptoms.
Associate Professor Anthony Byrne told ABC's 7.30 that there were more than 100 possible symptoms.
Dr Byrne helps run the long-COVID clinic at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney, where some patients have had symptoms for up to two years, ever since contracting COVID-19.
"Fatigue is really common, lethargy, breathlessness, brain fog," he said.
When ABC's 7.30 caught up with patient Natalie Lukas, she was having her lungs tested at St Vincent's as part of her treatment.
The 42-year-old used to run and play sport with ease, while juggling a busy medical career and a family, but now has had long COVID for four months.
"I'm a shadow of my normal self. Everyone who knows me [knows] I'm very physically active, mum of three kids," she said.
"I'm probably functioning 30 per cent of what I normally am."
She's been prescribed a common anti-inflammatory medication.
Another St Vincent's patient, Belinda Fraser, has tried everything from breathing exercises and physiotherapy to tai chi.
The 52-year-old has had long COVID for about five months.
"Definitely, in the back of my mind, I keep thinking, 'Maybe this is just how I am now'," Ms Fraser said.
"But I try [to] think, 'I could think like that, or I'll just give it a stab'."
Both Ms Lukas and Ms Fraser said the various treatments have made them feel better, and urged governments to help set up more long-COVID clinics.
Increasing need for specialist clinics
While long-COVID clinics have popped up around Australia, demand is outstripping supply as people search for follow-up treatment.
"Patients are not quite sure where to go," Nepean Hospital's Dr Wong said.
"Some clinicians and GPs are only still in the process of learning about this condition."
Such clinics require dedicated funding, according to St Vincent's Dr Byrne.
"This condition has significant implications for the public health and the Australian health system because of the sheer number of potential patients," he said. "This virus is not going anywhere fast."
ABC's 7.30 sought a response from federal Health Minister Mark Butler, however, his office did not respond.
Watch this 7.30 story on ABC iview.
