Two thirds of patients receiving treatment for long Covid at a specialist US clinic had either mild symptoms when contracting the virus or no symptoms at all, doctors said, at a regional forum on the condition.
Extreme fatigue, breathlessness and brain fog were the most common symptoms reported by patients on the Mayo Clinic's Covid Activity Rehabilitation Programme.
Unfortunately we have not yet found a quick cure for this condition
Dr Greg Vanichkachorn,
Mayo Clinic's Covid Activity Rehabilitation Program
But profuse sweating, constipation and hearing loss are other symptoms now commonly reported in those with the condition.
Dr Greg Vanichkachorn, the US clinic’s medical director, said vaccines had helped bring the pandemic under control, but long-haul Covid remained an unknown frontier.
“Long haul Covid can affect anyone. Everyday we are learning more about long haul Covid. Despite all of our best efforts people are still suffering and this is not going away,” he said.
“Patients are getting better, but there are some who will have these symptoms as the new baseline in their life.
“When we originally started to encounter this condition we thought the risk factors would be older age or high blood pressure.
“But 75 per cent of our patients had very mild symptoms and did not require any medical care at all (during their infection).”
RAK Hospital rehabilitation programme
The UAE reported 73 new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday, taking the total number of infections since the pandemic began to 740,209.
According to the World Health Organisation, approximately 10 to 20 per cent of Covid-19 patients experience lingering symptoms for weeks to months following an acute infection.
ARISE, the Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies, is a network of private sector entities led by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR).
To help patients suffering from long covid symptoms, ARISE launched a comprehensive ‘Online Covid-19 Rehabilitation Programme’ in association with RAK Hospital.
The programme launched in March, and can be accessed by anyone from anywhere in the world.
Symptoms of long Covid
Research from the programme found chronic fatigue was the most common symptom in UAE patients suffering with long Covid, and experienced by 47.5 per cent of people.
A further 42.5 per cent of research participants said they had trouble controlling existing chronic ailments such as diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis and obesity post-Covid, compared with 39 per cent globally.
The study also found 37.5 per cent of patients complained of insomnia, 32.5 per cent felt depressed, 27.5 per cent said they faced confusion and brain fog, while loss of taste and smell was experienced by 20 per cent of Covid long-haulers.
“The primary problem we find is that patients are extremely reconditioned, so we help patients return strength to their bodies in a safe way,” said Dr Vanichkachorn.
“Post exertion malaise or fatigue can last for hours or days after activity so many patients have a hard time completing simple tasks without experiencing a flare up of symptoms.
“Unfortunately we have not yet found a quick cure for this condition.
“Long covid is very rare in vaccinated patients and those who do get it seem to recover much faster than those who are unvaccinated.
“The vaccine is playing a role, but we are also seeing patients a lot earlier, maybe at five weeks rather than three months into long haul Covid.
“This may be because they are getting treated earlier than before.”
Dubai clinic helps patients with long Covid
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Director: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas
Three stars
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
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