Many people who report having long-term COVID-19 symptoms are unable to fully participate in society. This is a key finding from the twelfth quarterly research update from the Network for Health Research in Disasters (GOR Network). A significant percentage of these young people and adults are unable to fully attend school or go to work. Young people and adults also feel limited in their social lives as a result of their symptoms. Their limited energy means they have less contact with friends and family. Some of them also report that the quality of their relationships has declined.
There are over 12,000 survey participants (aged 12 years and older) taking part in this study. Of the participants who have had COVID-19, 3% report having persistent long-term symptoms. This is also known as post-COVID or Long COVID. In the latest quarterly research update, this percentage is equally high among young people and adults. For the first time in this study, this twelfth survey round specifically asked about the impact of post-COVID on work, school or study, and social life. The answers help gain a better understanding of what it is like to have post-COVID.
Impact on school and work
Post-COVID has a major impact on work, study or school in young people and adults. Nearly half of young people with long-term symptoms after a SARS-CoV-2 infection are unable to participate fully in secondary school or further education: 27% are taking fewer classes, while 20% have formally put their studies on hold due to illness or deregistered completely. 34% of people with post-COVID who are considered part of the Dutch workforce report that they are working fewer hours or no longer working at all. Another 12% reported that they are jobless. In those cases, post-COVID may be a contributing factor.
Impact on social contacts
One-fifth of young people and nearly one-quarter of adults reported that their social contacts have become limited or vanished altogether as a result of the symptoms. This includes contact with both friends and family. Many reported that the limited contact is because is that they have no energy to interact with others. They also see fewer people because they participate in fewer social activities at school, work or sports clubs. In addition, young people and adults alike reported that well-meaning people often try not to overburden them, but that they feel excluded as a result. Some feel misunderstood by the people around them. Only a few indicated that they had actually developed a better relationship with family or friends.
Research programme on physical and mental health impacts of COVID-19 crisis
Over the course of a five-year period (2021–2025), the Network for Health Research in Disasters (GOR Network) is compiling information about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the health and perceived happiness of people in the Netherlands. This research programme is called the Integrated Health Monitor COVID-19. The quarterly surveys are part of this. The monitor shows a snapshot of mental and physical health at a specific time in the Netherlands and how these aspects change over time. This up-to-date knowledge will enable policymakers to develop better policies. The researchers also regularly conduct interviews with people who have first-hand experience, experts in various fields, and education professionals, so that they can take this body of knowledge into account in the assistance that they offer.
The GOR Network consists of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), local offices of the Municipal Public Health Services (GGDs), GGD GHOR (the national umbrella organisation of the GGDs and the Regional Medical Assistance Organisations), the Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research (Nivel), and ARQ National Psychotrauma Centre. The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) is the commissioning client for this research, acting on behalf of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS).