UK to study treatment, diagnosis of long-term effects of COVID-19 : Health Department

Moscow, July 18: The UK government has allocated nearly 20 million pounds ($27.5 million) to launch 15 new research programs to study the so-called long COVID ? a condition wherein people suffer COVID-19 symptoms, such as fatigue and neurological disorders, for a longer period than usual, the Department of Health and Social Care said on Sunday.

The latest research revealed that while many people can fully recover from the coronavirus, a significant proportion of people continue to experience COVID-19 symptoms for months. The studies seek to help those affected return to their normal lives, the health department said.

“Thousands of people suffering with long COVID will benefit from new research programmes backed by ?19.6 million to help better understand the condition, improve diagnosis and find new treatments. An extensive programme of 15 new research studies … will allow researchers across the UK to draw together their expertise from analysing long COVID among those suffering long-term effects,” the department said in a press release.

The programs will focus on several aspects, including efforts to better understand the condition and identify it, the evaluation of different treatments, as well as measures to better integrate specialist, hospital and community services for those suffering from long COVID, the press release added.

(UNI)