The number of people in the UK suffering symptoms associated with long Covid for more than a year has increased by 48,000, according to official data.
Office for National Statistics (ONS) data covering the period to 2 January 2022 revealed 554,000 had been suffering symptoms associated with long Covid for more than a year, up from 506,000 in the month before.
The data also showed the number of people suffering long Covid symptoms for at least 12 weeks had risen to 947,000 from 892,000 over the same period.
Overall 1.3 million people had been suffering long Covid symptoms for more than four weeks, unchanged from the period to the 6 December.
Fatigue continued to be the most common symptom reported as part of individuals’ experience of long Covid (50%), followed by shortness of breath (37%), loss of smell (37%), and loss of taste (28%).