The UK’s Department of Health and Social Care said on Sunday that the UK government has allocated nearly 20 million pounds (equivalent to 27.5 million US dollars) to study what is called “long Covid,” adding that 15 new research programs will be launched for the study.
Also Read: Fully vaccinated UK health secretary Sajid Javid tests positive for Covid-19
In “long Covid,” people have symptoms of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), such as fatigue and neurological disorders, for a period longer than usual.
“People who have long Covid will benefit from the new research programs, which will help to understand the condition better, improve diagnosis and find new treatments. The 15 new research studies will allow researchers across the United Kingdom to draw together their expertise from analysis long Covid among those suffering long-term effects,” the department stated in a press release.
The release further said that the programs will focus on several aspects, including efforts to understand the condition better and identify it, the evaluation of different treatments, as well as measures to ensure better integration of specialist, hospital and community services for people with long Covid.
The announcement by the Department of Health comes in the wake of a latest study which stated that while many people can fully recover from Covid-19, a significant portion of people continue to experience its symptoms for “several months.” The aim of launching these studies is to help those affected return to normal lives, the release further stated.
In recent days, the UK has seen a fresh uptick in daily coronavirus infections, driven primarily by the Delta variant which was first found in India last year. Despite this, virtually all Covid-19 restrictions will come to an end on July 19, as confirmed by the government earlier this week. However, experts, alarmed at the rise in daily cases, have urged prime minister Boris Johnson’s administration to continue with certain safety measures, with former health secretary Jeremy Hunt warning that a lockdown “may have to be re-imposed.”
(With ANI inputs)
