Coronavirus Latest News
The difficulties of estimating long Covid | David Spiegelhalter and Anthony Masters
The number of people with post-Covid syndrome depends on the statistical method used
Many viruses can lead to prolonged effects after the infection has passed and Sars-CoV-2 is no exception: the NHS has compiled a long list of symptoms of long Covid. However, a recent Telegraph headline states: “More than half of Britons suffering from long Covid might not actually have it.” Is that what the data says?
The Office for National Statistics conducts regular surveys of private households, testing for Covid infections and asking about health. But there is no diagnostic test for long Covid, or even a consensus on a definition, so a range of exploratory statistical methods must be used.
Read the original article at The Guardian