1.4m Canadian adults report prolonged COVID-19 symptoms

A United States-bound passenger walks in Toronto Pearson Airport's Terminal 3, days before new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing protocols to enter the US come into effect, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada Dec 3, 2021. (CHRIS HELGREN / REUTERS)

OTTAWA / MOSCOW / NEW YORK – About 1.4 million Canadian adults indicated they had symptoms at least three months after a positive COVID-19 test or suspected infection, Statistics Canada said on Monday.
Of those who indicated a previous positive test or a suspected infection for COVID-19, 14.8 percent experienced symptoms at least three months after their infection, the national statistical agency said, adding that this translated into about 1.4 million Canadian adults or 4.6 percent of the Canadian population aged 18 years and older.
According to the statistical agency, a higher percentage of women reported prolonged symptoms compared with men. No significant differences by age group were found in the percentage of Canadian adults reporting prolonged symptoms.
Fatigue was the most reported unresolved symptom, followed by cough, shortness of breath and brain fog, said the agency.

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Russia

Russia recorded 10,403 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, taking the nationwide tally to 21,314,957, the official monitoring and response center said Monday. 

The nationwide death toll increased by 92 to 388,993, while the number of recoveries increased by 14,513 to 20,618,358.

United States
There are no Long COVID clinics in central Florida of the United States, which means patients are forced to reconcile with long drives to COVID-19 clinics around the state and even longer wait-lists, reported Spectrum News on Sunday.

"The long-haul COVID clinics out there, ours for example (are) swamped with patients," said Irene Estores, a physician who runs a Long COVID clinic in the state. "The patients have to wait."

"For some, arriving at a Long COVID clinic comes only after repeated fruitless attempts to find treatments elsewhere," the report noted.

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Many Long COVID patients struggle with their mental health, said the report. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that for COVID-19 survivors, rates of depression, anxiety and even suicide are higher than in the rest of the population.

An estimated 7.5 percent of adults in the United States suffer from post-COVID conditions lasting more than three months. Despite broad public interest in the issue, treatments for the condition vary in effectiveness from person to person, and aren't widely available, it added.