Roughly one in 20 adults in Ireland are suffering from symptoms of long COVID. 

The data was obtained by independent TD Denis Naughten and polling company Ireland Thinks. 

1,328 people took part in the survey and 6.3% of people in Dublin reported symptoms of long COVID, in the rest of Leinster it was 9.36%, 5.4% in Munster and 3.78% in Connacht/Ulster.

Deputy Naughten said the figures mean close to 200,000 people are affected by the condition.

“Over 190,000 people right across this country [have long COVID],” he said.

“Which is a significant number of people and there’s a huge range of impact that this is having on them.

“Some of them, it’s relatively minor, some people are in a situation where they’re not able to get out of bed in the morning or function on a day to day basis.”

A patient's COVID-19 swab is taken out from a sterile tube.

Among sufferers, 16% said the condition had impacted “a lot” on their daily lives and a further 63% said it had had “some” impact on their lives.

86% said they were suffering from fatigue and 37% said they had developed memory problems.

Waiting lists for long COVID treatment vary across the country; at Dublin’s St Vincent’s Hospital, patients have to wait up to 42 weeks, in Tallaght it is 26, whereas in Galway University Hospital it is 16 weeks.

Deputy Naughten said statistics demonstrate a need for the Government to “urgently address the care requirements of those who are suffering with this illness”.

“We need to take a full-scale approach to treating long COVID,” he said.

“[There should be] multidisciplinary clinics with involvement from respiratory specialists, infectious disease physicians, neurologists, cardiologists and psychologists who can provide patients with a comprehensive assessment and a holistic treatment plan.”

Main image: A person holds a COVID-19 antigen test showing a positive result. Picture by: Thousand Word Media Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo