The effects of long Covid could trigger significant consequences for both mortality and morbidity as well as curtailing previously stable longevity improvements, according to longevity consultancy Club Vita.
Erik Pickett, actuary and chief content officer at Club Vita, warned long Covid, a diagnosis for longer-term symptoms of Covid-19 including headaches and fatigue, is a key driver for shorter lives amid other issues.
“There’s potential for it [long Covid] to have a long-lasting effect on mortality, but also on morbidity.”
“If people are getting long-term effects of Covid such as long-term fatigue, it might make them less effective in the workforce. It might make them search out early retirement, whereas they wouldn’t have done before.”
Pickett also explained there had been sizeable differences in how countries have experienced mortality and morbidity during the pandemic.
According to Club Vita research, excess deaths in the US in 2020 were 14% higher than expected, closely followed by the UK at 13.5%. In Canada, the figure was approximately 6.5%. Pickett said in 2021 the US continued to report high excess mortality at 14.5% and dropping to 8.5% and 3% in the UK and Canada respectively.
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