Estimating Long COVID II

Different methods produce different estimates.

In children, a SARS-CoV-2 infection often has no symptoms or induces only mild disease. Fatalities among children are rare, but mortality is not the only concern. Some people with Covid-19 may experience symptoms long after recovering from infection.

How many children have ‘long COVID’? For the United Kingdom, there are two sources on the prevalence of post-COVID syndrome.

COVID Infection Survey (ONS)

The Office for National Statistics conducts a random infection survey. The survey is of private households. It does not include hospitals, care homes, or other institutions like prisons. As part of that survey, respondents answer this question:

Would you describe yourself as having “long COVID”, that is, you are still experiencing symptoms more than 4 weeks after you first had COVID-19, that are not explained by something else?

If they answer ‘yes’, they answer two more questions. These questions cover effects on day-to-day activities and experienced symptoms.

There is a wide range of potential symptoms. (Image: Office for National Statistics)

The ONS estimates around 11,000 (6,000 to 16,000) children aged 2–11 report symptoms four weeks after infection. For older children, who are 12 to 16 years old, that figure is about 23,000 (18,000 to…