Jessica Sewell has been on and off work since she developed long COVID last June, fighting the disease’s symptoms, which she describes as “volatile.”
“I can be OK today and able to do my job, but I get a cold and I have a two-week flare-up,” said Sewell, 28, an administrative assistant in Burnaby, B.C.
Sewell contracted COVID-19 last May, and was very sick, but said she felt well enough to return to work after her 14-day isolation. Three weeks later, she began to experience brain fog, dizzy spells, extreme fatigue and tremors. Her heart rate would shoot up to 200 beats per minute, even while standing still.
Sewell was assessed at a long COVID clinic in July. In the weeks leading up to her diagnosis, she tried to keep working because taking time off felt like “defeat,” she said.
But, “the more you push, the more [long COVID] pushes back, and it always wins,” she said.
Unclear timeline for recovery
More than 200 symptoms are associated with long COVID, affecting the brain, heart, lungs and blood vessels, according to a 2021 study published in the Lancet. The World Health Organization says symptoms can appear up to 12 weeks after even a mild infection, and can persist for months, but also “fluctuate or relapse over time.”
WATCH | Doctors strive to solve long COVID as patients struggle:
Doctors search to solve long COVID as patients fight to recover
2 months ago
Duration 6:14
Nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, doctors and health experts are searching to find a cause and treatment for long COVID, while patients are simply fighting for their recovery. 6:14
Some experts fear the recent surge of infections in the Omicron wave could translate into a swell of long COVID cases in the coming months. That could have a “knock-on effect” for Canadian workplaces, in terms of illness, absences, and helping workers get back on their feet, said Peter Smith, senior scientist at the Institute for Work & Health, which studies the health and safety of working Canadians.
Smith said the disease might be difficult for some bosses to grasp, given the variety of symptoms, the way it flares up unexpectedly and the unclear timeline for recovery.
But he said, “it’s a missed opportunity [for employers] not to enable these people to come back to the workplace.”
It’s a missed opportunity if employers don’t help to accommodate long COVID sufferers who want to come back to work, said Peter Smith, a senior scientist at the Institute for Work & Health. (Submitted by Peter Smith)
Before getting sick, Sewell says she was a hard worker with plans to further her education and seek promotion. But while her employer has been understanding, she says fears this time off is harming her career prospects, and feels in limbo, not knowing if she can work from day to day.
“It makes it hard to be that dependable employee that I’m used to being,” she told The Current’s Matt Galloway.
Burden of proof is a problem
Another woman who spoke to The Current was working at a Toronto bank when she caught COVID-19 in March 2020. CBC has agreed not to name her because she fears she could face repercussions for speaking out about her employer.
She was unable to confirm the infection due to testing limitations at the time. But when unexplained symptoms — including dizziness, headaches, chest pain, muscles spasms and nausea — flared up in June 2020, her doctor diagnosed her with presumed long COVID.
By August, she was too ill to work. But when her employer insisted on proof of the original infection, she didn’t have it.
“My doctor had tried her best to support me, but she wasn’t able to provide the evidence,” she said.
She enlisted a lawyer, who helped her secure long-term disability support through her employer’s provider.
It’s time to act for all these people suffering from these debilitating conditions.– Simon Décary
Simon Décary, a professor of rehabilitation at the Université de Sherbrooke, said this burden of proof could become a problem, because testing capacity collapsed during Omicron.
While the required proof varies by workplace, Décary thinks employees with long COVID shouldn’t need a positive PCR test result to prove they were previously infected with COVID-19. Instead, health-care providers could be trained to diagnose long COVID based on the WHO definition, with that diagnosis accepted by employers, he said.
Workplace compensation boards around the country vary on this requirement. The Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board insists on a PCR test confirming the original diagnosis; while in Quebec, CNESST stipulates that priority workers who can access PCR tests will need one for a claim, but workers who cannot access PCR tests will have their claim assessed in “good faith.”
Up to Dec. 31, the WSIB has approved 31,363 claims related to COVID-19 workplace infection. The Current asked how many of those claims are related to long COVID symptoms, but the organization did not provide a figure.
In a statement, the WSIB said it provides financial support until workers are “safely able to return to work,” and that 86 per cent of claimants did so within 16-30 days.
“If people experience symptoms after they have recovered and returned to work, they could come back to us to see if they are eligible for additional benefits,” the statement continued.
WATCH| COVID-19 long-haulers adapt to new normal:
What Comes Next: COVID-19 long-haulers adapt to new normal
8 months ago
Duration 3:29
As Ontario slowly reopens, COVID-19 long-haulers are still trying to adapt to their new normal. Ismaila Alfa spoke with Amara Possian about her struggles with the disease. This is the second installment of a Metro Morning series exploring how the pandemic has changed people — and what comes next. 3:29
In B.C., Sewell used up her sick days, then applied for provincial financial support. But a backlog in processing claims meant she had to dip into her savings.
“You’re supposed to be trying to stay stress-free … it’s hard to do that when you’re slowly watching your savings dwindle down to nothing,” she said.
Décary thinks the federal government should recognize long COVID as potential grounds for disability, to help patients access appropriate supports.
“It’s time to act for all these people suffering from these debilitating conditions,” he said.
The Current asked Health Canada whether there are plans to recognize long COVID as a grounds for disability support, but has not yet received a response.
Return to work needs communication, flexibility
In Toronto, the bank worker is still off work nearly two years after contracting COVID-19. She suffers from fatigue, heart palpitations and muscle cramps. She said her employers hired someone to fill in for her temporarily, and told her that she can return when she’s well enough, but she doesn’t know when that will be.
She said that alongside coping with her illness, she had to cope with “the stress of knowing that my employer felt that I wasn’t ill enough to be off, when I couldn’t even get out of bed.”
Smith said “trust on both sides” is key to a successful return to work for those suffering from long COVID, and it takes flexibility and frequent communication. In light of testing issues during Omicron, he thinks “we should focus less on the condition and more on what the symptoms are.”
Simon Décary, a professor of rehabilitation at the Université de Sherbrooke, said more should be done to help Canadians living with long COVID. (Submitted by Simon Décary)
That means patients could discuss their daily work with health-care providers, who could pinpoint what parts of their job might still be doable without inflaming their symptoms, he said.
Workers could then communicate clearly to their employers: “‘This is what I can do. This is what I’ve been told I can’t do,'” he said.
The employer could also consider temporary assignments, and try to give employees autonomy and flexibility over when tasks are completed.
Sewell contracted COVID-19 for a second time in December. But after a mild infection, she returned to work this month.
She wants employers to “lead with empathy,” and understand that the illness may be very limiting for staff.
“[Working] may be the only thing they’re going to do that day. They may be sacrificing going to their kid’s activity, or taking a shower, or having a home-cooked meal for their family,” she said.
“If we’re choosing work and being at work, just understand what that really means.”
Written by Padraig Moran. Produced by Alison Masemann and Joana Draghici.
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
