Question Number: 168
PDR Number: SQ22-000537
Date Submitted: 21/11/2022
Department or Body: Department of Health
• Long COVID is an emerging health issue both in Australia and internationally. Evidence about the nature and extent of long COVID is still emerging.
• A person is usually considered to have long COVID if relevant symptoms have persisted for longer than 12 weeks after their initial infection and cannot be explained by an alternative diagnosis.
• The Australian Government is funding research through the Medical Research Future Fund and National Health and Medical Research Council.
o This includes $3 million in funding to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare to establish a national linked data platform that integrates COVID-19 case information with a range of relevant existing health data sets, including vaccination data from the Australian Immunisation Register. This platform, which will be available to Australian researchers, will contribute to understanding the longer-term impacts of COVID-19 on patients.
o Further information on the COVID-19 linked dataset is available here: www.aihw.gov.au/reports-data/health-conditions-disability-deaths/covid-19/covidlinked-data-set
