[Translated from French]

The Québec network of clinics for long COVID still receives, each month, a hundred new patients, who sometimes have to wait up to six months before they can be treated.

“The problem now is that we have an accumulation of complex cases. It’s difficult to get new cases into treatment because we can’t finish with some patients,” says Simon Décary, Chair of the Long COVID Clinics Steering Committee.

Around 5% of people who contract COVID will still experience sequelae between three months and one year after infection. And around 1% of the population will have severe functional limitations to the point of needing services, says the physiotherapist.

A great expertise

In 2022, Québec deployed a network of 15 long COVID clinics across the province. Some 50 health professionals work full-time there.

“This is a great strength. In most countries, clinics have just closed. We have managed to maintain our teams, who now have three or four years of experience with this disease,” says Mr. Décary.