Long Covid lasting over a year for more and more people

In private households in the UK it is estimated that it increased from 384,000 from 380,000 in the last month.

The figures, from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), are based on responses collected in the four weeks to August 1.

This new data comes as research suggests that having two jabs of the Covid vaccine makes it half as likely that adults will get long Covid.

It cuts the chances by approximately 49 per cent.

Additional research from King’s College London detailed that being admitted to hospital with the virus was 73% less likely, whilst the chances of having severe symptoms were reduced by 31% for those fully vaccinated.

The prevalence of self-reported long Covid in the UK (PA Graphics)

The figures from the ONS survey, which was released on Thursday, said that a total of 970,000 people in the UK had experienced long Covid during their period of data collection.

This is defined as symptoms carrying on for more than four weeks after their first suspected infection and was up from 945,000 from the last survey.

What were the most common symptoms?

Two-thirds of those with self-reported long Covid – 643,000 people – were estimated to have their day-to-day activities adversely affected, with 188,000 reporting that their ability to undertake day-to-day activities had been “limited a lot”.

The most common symptom was fatigue (experienced by 58 per cent of those with self-reported long Covid), with the second highest being shortness of breath (42 per cent), then muscle ache (32 per cent) and trouble concentrating (31 per cent).

The effect of long Covid on children

An estimated 38,000 children in the UK aged from two to 16 had self-reported long Covid in the four weeks to August 1, the ONS said.

That is an increase from 34,000 in the four weeks to July 4.

A separate study conducted indicated that as many as one in seven children could have symptoms as far along as far months later if they get coronavirus.

The study, led by University College London and Public Health England and the world’s largest on long Covid in children, found that those who tested positive were twice as likely to report three or more symptoms 15 weeks later than those who tested negative.

The research considered almost 7,000 children aged 11 to 17.

Lead author Professor Sir Terence Stephenson, speaking to the Press Association, said he felt “reassured” by the data, which he said shows it is “nowhere near what people thought in the worst-case scenario”.

But he added that he remains “very concerned” that there could be young people who are “severely affected”.

He said: “That’s something that we’ll return to when we study young people at six months.

“But there will be some young people who are completely bedridden or remain very short of breath or have daily headaches, and I wouldn’t want to diminish that, but we’re reporting kind of aggregate numbers.

“I think overall it’s better than people would have guessed back in December.”