Long COVID constitutes a considerable disease burden for patients, which affects approximately 7% of the primary care population in the PaRIS survey. Its negative health impacts of severe fatigue and poorer physical and mental health are significant for patients living with Long COVID. While its impact on social functioning does not appear associated with reduced workforce participation as measured by the survey, this may mask short-term impacts on employment and sick leave and long-term impact on productivity. The persistence of Long COVID symptoms beyond 12 months affects approximately 3% of primary care patients, which represents a long-term disease burden.
Patients with Long COVID report worse healthcare experiences, likely resulting from a lack of co‑ordinated care for Long COVID and having to consult repeatedly or consult multiple specialties. Investing in training and education on Long COVID for healthcare professionals should improve recognition of Long COVID symptoms and timeliness of diagnosis for patients. Not having a single healthcare provider to consult for most of healthcare problems is associated with 10 percentage points lower trust in the healthcare system in the PaRIS survey (OECD, 2025[7]). This underlines the urgent need for integrated and standardised care pathways to detect, diagnose and manage patients living with Long COVID in order to reduce their medico‑administrative burden, improve the co‑ordination and quality of care delivered, and address the health impacts of this prevalent condition (Al-Aly et al., 2023[26]).
The long-term socio‑economic costs of Long COVID are difficult to estimate owing to uncertainties on the impact on workforce participation and the duration of symptoms. Continued surveillance and follow-up of this patient cohort is required to monitor trends in prevalence and recovery from Long COVID, to better plan for the associated disease burden for patients and healthcare systems in OECD countries.