Sixteen months into the pandemic, testimonies of people suffering from long-term effects of COVID-19 are multiplying, but knowledge in this regard remains limited. A new transdisciplinary, multi-centre prospective cohort study of adults previously infected with COVID-19 in Quebec aims to fill this gap.
Winner of an international competition, the IMPACT QUEBEC COVID-19 Long Haul Study is supported by a grant from Pfizer Inc. Led by Dr. Thao Huynh, a researcher at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and an epidemiologist-cardiologist at the MUHC, the study will assess the health of 200 participants over a one-year period.
According to statistics from the Johns Hopkins University, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide approaches 200 million. Of these, a significant but unquantified proportion is experiencing long-term symptoms. âConsidering the magnitude of the current pandemic and the exponentially growing number of people with persistent symptoms suggestive of long haul COVID-19 and a possible heart problem, it is crucial to acquire in-depth knowledge of the extent and duration of cardiovascular and other complications from COVID-19 infection,â says Dr. Huynh.