Lord Strasburger

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) have dedicated funding to research into treatment options, clinical trials, and to understanding the underlying mechanisms of long COVID. This investment spans both infrastructure supported projects and programme awards.

The total funding for the research studies, which include at least one element on treatments, is over £16.2 million. We have provided the overall figures of investment into the relevant studies, although not all funding would have been directly spent on treatments or clinical trials, which are as follows:

• £6.97 million for the STIMULATE-ICP trial, which is a large-scale, pragmatic, multi-centre, cluster randomised trial evaluating an integrated care pathway with a nested, phase three, open label, adaptive platform randomised drug trial in individuals with long COVID;
• £3.7 million for the HEAL-COVID platform trial, which assesses treatments to reduce complications in hospitalised COVID-19 patients, with implications for preventing long COVID;
• £1.1 million for the ReDIRECT trial, which is a randomised controlled trial evaluating a remotely delivered diet intervention for people with long COVID and excess weight;
• £1.08 million for the LISTEN trial, which is a randomised controlled trial based on a personalised self-management intervention for people with long COVID, where the intervention includes co-designed digital and paper resources and training for healthcare professionals;
• £1.83 million for the Therapies for Long COVID (TLC) study, which included a feasibility trial of pacing interventions for long COVID, which aimed to co-produce a feasibility study of non-pharmacological interventions to support people with long COVID. This was part of the TLC study, and the figure refers to the TLC study overall;
• £8.8 million for the PHOSP-I Trial, which is a phase two, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial investigating the effect of tocilizumab on the quality of life in adults with long COVID and persistent inflammation after hospitalisation;
• £1.29 million for the CICERO trial, which is a randomised controlled trial using telehealth-delivered cognitive rehabilitation for people with cognitive impairment as part of long COVID;
• £335,000 for online cognitive training for people with cognitive impairment following SARS-CoV-2 infection, and which is a randomised controlled clinical trial looking to assess whether online brain training games can help people with cognitive impairment following SARS-CoV-2 infection;
• £459,000 for Using Activity Tracking and Just-In-Time Messaging to Improve Adaptive Pacing, which is a pragmatic randomised controlled trial to evaluate mobile technology as a tool for improving adaptive pacing among individuals with long COVID;
• £640,000 for Percutaneous Auricular Nerve Stimulation for Treating Post-COVID Fatigue, which aims to establish whether self-administered non-invasive transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation can reduce symptoms of post-COVID fatigue in adults with long COVID; and
• £758,000 from UKRI via Innovate UK into two projects that focus on developing innovative digital therapeutics to support treatment options for long COVID patients.

The most recent data from the Winter Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Study, a joint study carried out by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the UK Health Security Agency, shows that, for the period 6 February 2024 to 7 March 2024, an estimated 1.8 million people, or 3.3% of the population, in private households in England, self-reported experiencing long COVID symptoms more than four weeks after a COVID-19 infection. The following table shows a breakdown of duration:

No estimate has been made of the rate at which prevalence of long COVID is currently increasing or decreasing in England. The ONS does not regularly collect this data.

No estimate has been made of the effect of long COVID on the economy in each year from 2020 to 2024, including the effect with respect to those affected by long COVID of their economic inactivity, the diminution in their quality of life, their lost income, the cost of informal caregiving for them, and their extra healthcare costs.

The most recent data from the infection study shows that for those who self-report long COVID of any duration, in England and Scotland, who are aged between 16 and 64 years old and are not in education are less likely to be employed or self-employed compared with those who have not reported long COVID.

On 18 December 2020, NHS England had put in place 69 dedicated clinics across the country. As of 1 April 2024, there were over 90 adult post-COVID services across England along with an additional 10 children and young people’s hubs.

The most recent data from the Winter Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Study, a joint study carried out by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the UK Health Security Agency, shows that, for the period 6 February 2024 to 7 March 2024, an estimated 1.8 million people, or 3.3% of the population, in private households in England, self-reported experiencing long COVID symptoms more than four weeks after a COVID-19 infection. The following table shows a breakdown of duration:

No estimate has been made of the rate at which prevalence of long COVID is currently increasing or decreasing in England. The ONS does not regularly collect this data.

No estimate has been made of the effect of long COVID on the economy in each year from 2020 to 2024, including the effect with respect to those affected by long COVID of their economic inactivity, the diminution in their quality of life, their lost income, the cost of informal caregiving for them, and their extra healthcare costs.

The most recent data from the infection study shows that for those who self-report long COVID of any duration, in England and Scotland, who are aged between 16 and 64 years old and are not in education are less likely to be employed or self-employed compared with those who have not reported long COVID.

On 18 December 2020, NHS England had put in place 69 dedicated clinics across the country. As of 1 April 2024, there were over 90 adult post-COVID services across England along with an additional 10 children and young people’s hubs.

The most recent data from the Winter Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Study, a joint study carried out by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the UK Health Security Agency, shows that, for the period 6 February 2024 to 7 March 2024, an estimated 1.8 million people, or 3.3% of the population, in private households in England, self-reported experiencing long COVID symptoms more than four weeks after a COVID-19 infection. The following table shows a breakdown of duration:

No estimate has been made of the rate at which prevalence of long COVID is currently increasing or decreasing in England. The ONS does not regularly collect this data.

No estimate has been made of the effect of long COVID on the economy in each year from 2020 to 2024, including the effect with respect to those affected by long COVID of their economic inactivity, the diminution in their quality of life, their lost income, the cost of informal caregiving for them, and their extra healthcare costs.

The most recent data from the infection study shows that for those who self-report long COVID of any duration, in England and Scotland, who are aged between 16 and 64 years old and are not in education are less likely to be employed or self-employed compared with those who have not reported long COVID.

On 18 December 2020, NHS England had put in place 69 dedicated clinics across the country. As of 1 April 2024, there were over 90 adult post-COVID services across England along with an additional 10 children and young people’s hubs.

The Government recognises that long COVID is a complex condition, with a wide range of symptoms, which, in the worst case, can be substantially incapacitating. The term ‘long COVID’ is an umbrella term, coined by patients and widely used to describe a wide range of symptoms or clusters of symptoms, of differing duration and severity, and potentially a number of distinct syndromes. The clinical case definition produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence identifies three phases of post-COVID-19 infection, the latter two of which are commonly described as long COVID, which are as follows:

• acute COVID-19, with signs and symptoms of COVID-19 for up to four weeks;
• ongoing symptomatic COVID-19, with signs and symptoms of COVID-19 for between four and 12 weeks; and
• post-COVID-19 syndrome, with signs and symptoms that develop during or after an infection consistent with COVID‑19, which continue for more than 12 weeks, and which are not explained by an alternative diagnosis. It usually presents with clusters of symptoms, often overlapping, which can fluctuate and change over time and can affect any system in the body. Post‑COVID‑19 syndrome may be considered before 12 weeks while the possibility of an alternative underlying disease is also being assessed.

The most common symptoms of long COVID are extreme tiredness or fatigue, feeling short of breath, problems with your memory and concentration, sometimes referred to as brain fog, heart palpitations, dizziness, joint pain, and muscle aches.