Reports of “long COVID-19” are rising throughout Hawaii, especially among Native Hawaiians and Filipinos, according to a new report from the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization, or UHERO.
A survey of 1,575 Hawaii residents found that 35% of participants reported having long COVID, an increase from the 30% reported in June 2022.
“We are seeing that the rate of COVID infection has decreased, but the rate of long COVID has increased over the last six months,” said Ruben Juarez, author of the study and a UHERO professor of health economics.
Long COVID in the report follows the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s definition: any individual with symptoms or conditions that continued to develop after 30 days or more from an initial COVID-19 infection.
“More than half of the respondents reported having tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic started, with younger individuals, Native Hawaiians and Filipinos reporting higher rates of positivity,” Juarez said. “At the same rates, the same populations are experiencing higher rates of long COVID, especially Native Hawaiians and Filipinos.”
The report attributes the increase in cases and of long COVID among those groups to socioeconomic factors such as housing conditions, poverty status and limited access to quality health care, which includes medications like Paxlovid that are used to treat COVID and reduce the likelihood of long COVID.
“It was really the people who were getting long COVID that also reported a delay in seeking health care, as well as those who had worse health care overall,” Juarez said, adding that individuals who experienced long COVID were 12% to 14% more likely to describe their overall health as fair or poor in the report.
“(Paxlovid) will reduce your chances, basically, of severe illness and hospitalization, but will also reduce your chances of contracting long COVID,” said infectious disease expert Dr. Tim Brown during a livestream interview last week. “This is not one you want to power through. If you try and power through it, you’re probably going to increase your chances of long COVID.”
The report also found that unemployment rates were higher among those experiencing long COVID.
“There is a significant gap between unemployed and employed individuals when it comes to long COVID,” Juarez said. “Those who are unemployed have a 49% rate of long COVID, whereas employed individuals have only a 28% rate.”
The report also pointed out a significant connection between those with long COVID and those reporting poor mental health.
“Individuals who suffer from long COVID reported higher rates of suicidal ideation,” Juarez said, along with Native Hawaiians, those living below the poverty line, and those burdened by housing and food costs.
Dylan Andrion, president of the West Hawaii Filipino Chamber of Commerce, said he has noticed an increase in cases of pandemic-induced depression within the Filipino community.
“There’s definitely been an uptick with depression and people being at home and not really knowing how to relate with one another anymore,” Andrion said. “Things like a Chamber of Commerce, or churches, or things where you’re bringing community together, all of these community organizations that are focusing on something positive allows for people to finally relate to one another again.”
According to Juarez, future UHERO studies will continue to focus on the mental health impacts of the pandemic, along with long COVID and possible interventions.
“The pervasive impacts of the pandemic, particularly long COVID, highlights the need for continued support for targeted, multifaceted interventions focusing on economic stability, housing security and equitable health care,” Juarez said. “That’s where the research is going to be focusing.”
Email Grant Phillips at gphillips@hawaiitribune-herald.com.