The long COVID threatens about 10% of Quebecers who contract the virus, leaving the sick distraught and the few clinics overwhelmed. Even if vaccination reduces the risks, they are still present.
“It freaks me out […] I have anxiety wondering if I’ll stay the same for long. The cost of living is rising, my mortgage too, and I have no income,” worries Serge Couvrette.
The 50-year-old from Longueuil contracted COVID-19 last September and, six months later, he is still experiencing painful symptoms. Extreme fatigue that nailed him to bed, mental fog preventing him from concentrating and shortness of breath in addition to difficulty looking at a screen, rendered him unable to work.
The latter worked from home, providing customer service and technical support over the phone for a Quebec lighting company. He tried to come back a few weeks after his infection, but it was a waste of time.
Still, Mr. Couvrette believed that his two doses of the vaccine would protect him from long-lasting COVID. And he is far from alone in this situation, according to Statistics Canada.
Omicron’s Victims
In a study published this fall, the organization estimates that 10.5% of Canadians infected after the emergence of the Omicron variant developed symptoms that persisted for more than three months. This is less than during the first wave, when Statistics Canada counted around 15% of long COVID cases among infected people, but it is a sign that the risk remains present.
“That’s what mosus is, why some people have it and others don’t; it’s annoying,” says Mr. Couvrette.
Despite everything, he tries to stay active both physically and mentally. He does wordsearch and reading, plus five to 10 minutes on the treadmill a few times a day.
“It’s frustrating, because I don’t see it getting better,” he says, adding that he also fights nightmares and dark thoughts about his helplessness.
‘No help’
He would like to participate in research against long COVID or simply consult a specialist to understand what is happening to him.
“We don’t have help, it’s distressing,” laments Mr. Couvrette. His family doctor directed him to a clinic in Sherbrooke, but more than 300 people are waiting in front of him. The 811 line directed him to Charles-Le Moyne Hospital, which also sends him to the same clinic in Sherbrooke.
He specifies that on the telephone, he is informed of a wait of five to six months.
His MP suggested CO-VIE services, which offer virtual meetings with physiotherapists. Mr. Couvrette points out that there were 50 people at the same time during the virtual meeting in which he participated, such is the demand.
Talking to someone and getting some rehabilitation advice, he says, has helped him tremendously.
300 people waiting for care
The few clinics caring for long-COVID patients are overwhelmed with requests, especially after last year’s Omicron waves.
Dr. Alain Piché, who directs the specialized clinic for post-COVID-19 conditions in Estrie, has around 300 patients on his waiting list. He is just starting to see infected people in consultation last summer, he says.
“It’s important to keep talking about it. It is the epidemic in the pandemic”, illustrates the specialist.
Double patients
Epidemiologist-cardiologist and researcher at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center (MUHC), Dr. Thao Huynh, for her part, doubled the number of patients included in her research project.
With funding for 200 patients, she now sees 400, whom she treats on her own and on her own time, even during her holidays. “I see so much suffering that I can’t stop,” says the doctor.
Patients wait about two months before they can be examined.
According to her, the investments announced by the Quebec government are insufficient, but the patients are too exhausted to lobby.
Last year, $20.5 million was announced to create 15 clinics to treat post-infectious symptoms caused by COVID-19 across the province.
But, for the moment, the Ministry of Health and Social Services indicates that only seven clinics have opened their doors and that another is in the running-in phase.
This fall, Statistics Canada put the number of Canadians who had symptoms of COVID-19 for at least three months at 1.4 million. About a quarter are Quebecers.
Breakthroughs to come
Researcher Simon Décary from the University of Sherbrooke expects “significant progress” at the end of the year. First, clinical studies are being carried out to find ways to reduce the risks of long-term COVID, in particular with probiotics or the drug Paxlovid.
Then there is the creation of a practice guide to relieve comorbidities related to long COVID with existing drugs.
In 2024, he foresees the appearance of new drugs for the symptoms of COVID-19.