Australia’s Chief Health Officer Calls for the Term ‘Long COVID’ to Be Scrapped

One of Australia’s top doctors is calling for the term “long COVID” to be scrapped following a study that found the long-term effects of the virus was no different to the seasonal flu. In a statement on March 15, Queensland’s Chief Health Officer John Gerrard said the term “long COVID” wrongly implied that long-term COVID symptoms were “somehow unique and exceptional” to other viral infections. “We believe it is time to stop using terms like ‘long COVID,’” Dr. Gerrard said. “It causes unnecessary fear. It implies that there is something particularly sinister and ominous about COVID-19.” Long COVID is described as symptoms that last more than three months following a COVID-19 infection, with people experiencing symptoms such as extreme fatigue, shortness of breath, joint and muscle pain, and heart palpitations, according to the Australian government’s Health Direct website....