香港六合彩中特网

COVID-19 was by the World Health Organisation (WHO), but persistent health consequences have affected the lives of around one in 13 (7.8%) young people who contracted the virus.听

Philip, who studies BA History at 香港六合彩中特网, came down with COVID right after Welcome Week this year. He said: 鈥淚 was out of uni for three weeks. It was debilitating. For a few days, my temperature went up to 40 degrees, and I even called 999 a few times.鈥澨�

I'm always exhausted, even when I鈥檝e just woken up

But while severe symptoms went away after a few weeks, Philip noticed that his health had never truly returned to how it was before the drastic downturn. 听

鈥淚'm always exhausted, even when I鈥檝e just woken up. My concentration and focus have also been greatly affected since then, which sucks听since I got it just as I was returning from a year-and-a-half of interruption and finally getting back on ADHD medication and antidepressants that worked for me. It felt like starting over again,鈥� he said.听

it鈥檚 still difficult to definitively diagnose long COVID鈥�

鈥淟ong COVID鈥� is often used colloquially as an umbrella term for any prolonged health complications after COVID infections. While systematically and accurately defining this 鈥渆merging new condition鈥� is a work in progress for researchers, standardised definitions for medical professionals have been introduced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).听

NICE uses long COVID to describe when patients experience or develop health with the coronavirus. The condition can be further classified as 鈥渙ngoing symptomatic COVID-19鈥� for when symptoms last between four and 12 weeks and 鈥減ost-COVID syndrome鈥� for when symptoms continue beyond 12 weeks.听

These symptoms might include the development or worsening of mental health conditions, cognitive and attention difficulties, physical weakness, and cardiovascular and respiratory issues like irregular heartbeat and shortness of breath. According to a recent study by 香港六合彩中特网 and the University of Exeter,听the most common听symptom, fatigue, can affect patients鈥� quality of life more than some cancers.听

But most current research into long COVID is based on participants who self-report long COVID symptoms rather than ones clinically diagnosed with 鈥渙ngoing symptomatic COVID-19鈥� or 鈥減ost-COVID syndrome.鈥� This is because despite attempts at clarification, it鈥檚 still difficult to definitively diagnose long COVID. This is due to factors like a lack of consistent screening tests and studies with control groups to identify long COVID symptoms and distinguish it from other diseases. 听

鈥�What is less ambiguous about long COVID听though, is its ability to affect all aspects of someone鈥檚 life, including their studies.听

The uncertainty has also made it difficult to track down 香港六合彩中特网 students with long COVID to speak about their experiences. Philip said: 鈥淚 can't know for sure if what's been going on with me for the past few months is long COVID or something else, but it's quite likely that's what I'm going through, at least in part.鈥澨�

What is less ambiguous about long COVID听though, is its ability to affect all aspects of someone鈥檚 life, including their studies.听

A project led by 香港六合彩中特网 researchers looked into how long COVID can affect the academic performance of over 13,000 young people who were in Year 11 in 2021-22. The findings showed that nearly听half (45%) of the young students who reported long COVID symptoms felt they had fallen behind their classmates. Almost three in five (59%) were struggling to catch up with lost learning.听

nearly half (45%) of the young students who reported long COVID symptoms felt they had fallen behind听

It was also found that pupils with 鈥渟evere鈥� long COVID also averaged lower on teacher-assessed GCSE than those who didn鈥檛 have long COVID.听The project is called the听COVID Social Mobility and Opportunities Study听(颁翱厂惭翱).

鈥�Almost three in five (59%) were struggling to catch up with lost learning

Philip said the findings reflect his experiences too. He thinks long COVID symptoms 鈥渄efinitely鈥� caused him to not be able to study as much and as well as he鈥檚 normally able to, 鈥渆specially compared to coursemates.鈥澨�

Dr Jake Anders is an Associate Professor in Educational and Social Statistics at 香港六合彩中特网鈥檚 Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities (CEPEO). He is also the Principal Investigator of COSMO. Reflecting on the findings about long COVID鈥檚 academic consequences, he thinks it 鈥渟eems likely鈥� that young people at university experience them too.听

鈥�universities should be looking at ways in which they can support young people who feel they have fallen behind due to long COVID

鈥淯nlike lost learning due to wider disruption, if someone has long COVID and is unable to engage with their studies as a result, this is likely to be highly disruptive to their learning experience regardless of their educational setting,鈥� he said.听

Additionally, Dr Anders hopes universities can 鈥渂e sympathetic鈥� to the physical and academic challenges faced by students experiencing long COVID and provide necessary support.听

鈥淐ertainly, universities should be looking at ways in which they can support young people who feel they have fallen behind due to long COVID. [The students鈥橾 physical exhaustion and issues with concentration mean they may well need longer to complete some or all parts of their studies. This may mean being flexible with assignment deadlines, for example, as well as being supportive if students need to suspend their studies for a period where possible.鈥澨�

鈥�many of the young people Dr Anders and the COSMO team are following in their studies will be incoming students this September.听

The conversation around appropriate support for university students with long COVID should be increasingly relevant, as many of the young people Dr Anders and the COSMO team are following in their studies will be incoming students this September.听

Dr Anders said: 鈥淲e recently completed our second data collection, which was completed while many young people are in the run up to doing their A levels. We hope our findings illuminate many of the challenges still facing this cohort of young people, around half of whom will be starting university next year. As a result, seeking to understand the unequal experiences of this incoming cohort and, as a result, ways in which their teaching needs to respond to their ambitions and needs.鈥澨�

COVID-19 is still a virus that can cause serious health consequences for everyone, but there are measures in place to keep the 香港六合彩中特网 student and staff communities safe on campus. You can also help by taking recommended actions that prevent the spread of infections.

If long COVID is affecting your听health and studies, please reach out to Student Support and Wellbeing听and check out the听

Further information and resources听听

• If you need support, please reach out to Student Support and Wellbeing
• Keeping safe on campus
• COVID Social Mobility and Opportunities Study (COSMO)听is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as part of UK Research and Innovation鈥檚 rapid response to COVID-19
• 香港六合彩中特网 convalescence long COVID Study听
• 香港六合彩中特网 News: Almost half of young people with long COVID reported lost learning听
• 香港六合彩中特网 News: Up to one in six people with Covid-19 report long Covid symptoms听
• 香港六合彩中特网 News: Long COVID can impact fatigue and quality of life worse than some cancers听

About the author

Suzanna Chen is a second-year undergraduate student in the Arts and Sciences programme. As a Chinese-Canadian student with disabilities, she is passionate about bringing her unique perspective and shining a light on lesser-acknowledged topics as a student journalist 鈥� and hopefully as a professional one in the future. As well as being part of the 香港六合彩中特网 VPEE Student Journalism Scheme, she is also Editor-in-Chief of the London Tab. 听