Four percent of the population older than 15 years say they suffer from Long Covid
Archive image. – © Christophe Vander Eecken
Just over 4 percent of the Belgian population over the age of 15 say Long Covid says they suffer. Health Institute Sciensano reports this based on the results of the Health Survey 2023-2024.
The most recent national health survey, the first after the Coronapandemie, gives a view for the first time how often Long Covid occurs in Belgium. These are people who still have symptoms after their coronabes infection that last for three months and cannot be explained by an alternative diagnosis.
In 2023-2024, 56.7 percent of people older than 15 years indicated that they had had a COVID-19 infection in the past. That percentage is significantly higher in the Flemish Region (59.7 percent) than in the Brussels Region (53.5 percent) and the Walloon Region (51.9 percent). 8.9 percent thought they had a serious COVID infection.
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4.2 percent of the questioned also indicated that they had Long Covid. That share is approximately the same level in the three regions, but is significantly higher in women (5 percent) than in men (3.5 percent). The highest proportion of people with Long Covid (7 percent) is between 45 and 54 years.
About a quarter (24.1 percent) of the respondents who say to Long Covid suffer, says that the condition has a lot of influence on its daily activities. 36.6 percent received a diagnosis from a doctor or a health worker.
The report shows that the COVID-19 Pandemie has not had lasting consequences for the way the Belgians estimate their general health and well-being. About 22 percent of Belgians estimate their health as poor, a percentage that has remained quite stable over time. The Belgians do better than the European average (30.4 percent). A representative sample of 7,001 people in Belgium was questioned for the health survey.
