More Studies Required To Understand 'Long Covid' Impact: Vandana Chavan

There should be more studies to understand the impact of 'long Covid' on people's health, otherwise this might end up becoming a "parallel pandemic", Rajya Sabha MP Vandana Chavan said on Wednesday. Raising the issue in a special mention in the House, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader said considering the huge drop in daily number of Covid-19 cases, the worst seems to be over. However, it appears, there is ample evidence of a variety of side effects that are emerging among the infected population, she said. 

Chavan said even after recovering, some people continued to experience symptoms in "what has come to be known as 'long Covid'". These include persistent fatigue, headache, brain fog and shortness of breath, she said. This, she claimed, has been corroborated by an Oxford University research. Many people also seem to have acquired lasting medical conditions, including being diagnosed of diabetes and heart problems, the MP said. 

To support her call for more studies on the long-term impact of the disease, Chavan cited Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) data to highlight that cases of heart conditions and attacks in Mumbai rose by nearly 25 per cent in 2022 from the pre-pandemic year of 2017.  The MP said that Covid-19 also impacted the mental health of patients. 

"In light of all these evidence, more studies must be conducted to understand the long-term impact of Covid-19 on the human body, otherwise this might end up becoming a parallel pandemic itself," she said and asked the government to look into the matter at the earliest. In his special mention, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP S Selvaganabathy said setting up an integrated pharmaceutical innovation park in Puducherry will promote the pharma industry.

This will not only help it become a global leader in manufacturing of quality medicine, but also make India self-reliant in production of indigenous drugs at affordable prices, the MP said. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's P Wilson said the Centre has to pay Tamil Nadu Rs 19,053 crore as dues. The non-payment of dues is impeding the growth and development of the state, he claimed.

Citing a strike by MBBS students in Haryana against the state government's decision to implement a Rs 40 lakh bond policy, Sushil Gupta of the Aam Aadmi Party said the policy should be done away with and urged Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya to intervene in the matter. He said while fees of government medical colleges in various parts of the country, including Delhi, are nominal, Haryana had raised it years ago from Rs 80,000 to Rs 4 lakh. 

BJP's Sanajaoba Leishemba demanded that the India-Myanmar boundary issue in the Manipur sector be settled at the diplomatic level. Union home ministry officials visited the sector a few months ago to look into the matter pertaining to reported irregularities about border pillars, he added.