6 Comments
Mar 7Liked by Bob Hawkins

I wonder to what extent long Covid is a specific factor in increased - and possibly increasing - rates of economic inactivity?

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I think that whilst Long Covid does have some impact on rates of economic inactivity the evidence available points to it being relatively small. Full Fact did a review of the evidence in November 2022 that is worth a look.

https://fullfact.org/health/bbc-today-long-covid-ecnomic-inactivity/

My only caveat is that this is based on data from over 18 months ago and there is little new information available since the ONS stopped its survey on the impact of Long Covid in March 2023.

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This is now 2024; relying on data from 2022, which in itself is from early 2022 and 2021, is outdated.

The evidence that has emerged is covid19 is causing complications after the acute phase of the disease, including longcovid. At minimum rates of 1 in 10 infections it is obvious that this is going to increasingly cause economic harm over the long term. Every year more people will catch covid19 again and each time they do they face a higher risk of longcovid and other complications, thus increasing again in severity and risk each time they catch covid. The NHS are avoiding objectively providing figures, as are the ONS. At what point in time will the data be available from which to justify these rather obvious statements.

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Thanks Bob, I’ll check that out. Anecdotally, I’m hearing of more people developing long covid up to two years after infection and of course repeated reinfections can exacerbate the condition. For that reason, I’m baffled as to why better ventilation isn’t mandated in schools, health settings and other public buildings: I’m especially concerned for the long term health of my grandchildren.

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No problem. Concerning ventilation it amazes me that we have forgotten the lessons that the Victorian / Edwardian's learned about the importance of good ventilation. Some time ago I found these old 'ventilation engineering' drawings on-line that showed how they improved ventilation in schools.

http://www.hevac-heritage.org/electronic_books/schools/3-schools-boyle.pdf

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PS just seen this from your co-substack author Christina Pagel “We have also done precious little to reduce the spread of airborne respiratory diseases (whether Covid, Flu, RSV or colds) or reduce environmental pollution indoors to support a healthier population. Just last November, the CBI released a report calling for cleaner indoor air, estimating that a 95% reduction in indoor pollution could boost London employees’ productivity by up to 15%. “ We need to do more!

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