A new clinical trial is examining ways to treat people with Long COVID, Luke O’Neill has said. 

It is five-years since the virus arrived in Ireland but the consequences of the pandemic are still very much with us. 

On The Pat Kenny Show, the Trinity Professor revealed he receives emails from people with Long COVID asking, “Why aren’t we hearing more about it?”

“84,000 people in Ireland are still very debilitated by this,” he said. 

“They reckon there’s 400 million people worldwide who have long COVID and it means you can’t work, severe fatigue, aches and pains persisting for years. 

“One woman emailed me; she got it very early on and it hasn’t gone away. 

“So, it’s very much still a reality for people.” 

A person is administered the COVID vaccine. Image: ANP / Alamy Stock Photo

Professor O’Neill said the reason why Long COVID exists at all is “a bit of a mystery” that scientists are grappling with. 

“There’s 200 separate symptoms - that’s one issue and different people might have different sets,” he said.  

“The common symptom is fatigue and brain fog.” 

A healthcare worker is vaccinated against COVID-19. Picture by: Marc O'Sullivan. 

Some people have the disease for a year, while others have it for much longer. 

“[There’s] one theory, the virus is hiding in your body and re-erupts occasionally is one idea,” he said. 

“The second thing is, it’s very relevant beyond COVID because you’ve got chronic fatigue, post-viral and Lyme disease, for example. 

“Many people have persistent symptomatology, so the hope is that studying long COVID will help these other situations as well.” 

Treatment?

A study led by University College London Hospitals NHS Trust and University College London hopes it can provide patients with the answers they need. 

“The good news is there’s a massive study in the UK, which is well worth mentioning,” Professor O’Neill said. 

“It’s a huge trial, it’s called Stimulate ICP with 4,500 patients and it’s testing three drugs and three drug combinations in those people.” 

The study is also examining whether patients are receiving the right clinical care. 

“Are they treating people in the optimum way?” he said. 

“The bottom line is, there’s still lots of effort going into it.”

Main image: Professor Luke O’Neill in the Newstalk studio. Image: Newstalk