POLL: PHYSICIANS AGREE Long COVID
IS A PROBLEM BUT ARE UNPREPAREDTO TREAT IT
MORE RESEARCH FUNDING AND MEDICAL TRAINING NEEDED

It’s estimated that as many as 23 million Americans have developed Long COVID
symptoms. A new national poll shows that most physicians are concerned about thecondition but feel unprepared to diagnose and treat it.
In a poll of 806 U.S. physicians, conducted in December 2022 by Morning Consult
on behalf of the de Beaumont Foundation, more than three in four physicians (78%)
said Long COVID is a problem. However, only 7 percent of physicians are “veryconfident” diagnosing Long COVID and only 4 percent said they are “very confident”
treating the condition.
A companion poll of 2,210 U.S. adults was also conducted with many of the samequestions. Following are the key findings of the polls.

WHAT IS LONG COVID?
IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICYMAKERS AND THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY• Physicians need much more training in diagnosing and treating Long COVID.
• Funding research into Long COVID should be a national priority, and has thesupport of 82% of physicians and 76% of U.S. adults.

• More public education is needed to overcome misinformation and the stigma ofLong COVID.

Despite attempts by a small number of physicians todownplay the ongoing threat of COVID-19, these findings
show that nearly all physicians recognize the threat of Long COVID,
with only 2% saying it’s not a problem at all. And physicians andother Americans agree that we need more funding for Long COVID
research."—Brian C. Castrucci, DrPH
CEO and President, de Beaumont Foundation

A person who continues to have
COVID-19 symptoms at least 12 weeks
after being infected is considered tohave “Long COVID.” The most common
impacts include shortness of breath,physical exhaustion, and brain fog, but
at least 203 symptoms havebeen identified.
The Centers for Disease Control andPrevention estimates that one in five
adults who have had a known caseof COVID-19 has had Long COVID
symptoms, and a detailed review ofmore than 54 studies in 22 countries
estimated that 6.2% of people who had
experienced symptomatic COVID-19
infections reported at least one ofthree Long COVID symptoms threemonths after infection.
A recent study estimated that LongCOVID could cost the United Stateseconomy as much as $3.7 trillion.

2PHYSICIANS ARE MORE LIKELY THAN OTHER ADULTS
TO BELIEVE THAT LONG COVID IS A PROBLEM.

AMONG BOTH PHYSICIANS AND THE PUBLIC, DEMOCRATSWERE MORE LIKELY THAN INDEPENDENTS AND
REPUBLICANS TO SAY LONG COVID IS A PROBLEM.

Among physicians, 78% said Long COVID is somewhat of a problem
or a significant problem. A large majority of the public (64%) agreed.

HOW MUCH A PROBLEM IS LONG COVID IN THE UNITED STATES?

When respondents were asked how serious a problem Long
COVID is, the percentage difference between Democrat andRepublican physicians (10%) was smaller than the partisan gap
among the public (17%). Seven in 10 physicians who identified
as Republicans (70%) said Long COVID is a major problem,compared with just over half of all Republican adults (53%).

HOW SERIOUS A PROBLEM IS LONG COVID?
Percentage saying Long COVID is a somewhat orsignificant problem

50%

DEMOCRATS
INDEPENDENTS

All Adults

REPUBLICANS

6%0102030405060708090100

405060708090100

DEMOCRATSINDEPENDENTS

Physicians

REPUBLICANS0MOST DOCTORS AGREE THAT LONG COVID IS A
RECOGNIZABLE CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS.
Despite skepticism and misinformation from some high-profile
doctors and media personalities, physicians are largely united intheir belief that Long COVID is a recognizable clinical diagnosis.

DO YOU THINK LONG COVID IS A RECOGNIZABLE
CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS?

YESNO
01020304050607080901001020303MOST PHYSICIANS AND THE PUBLIC THINK THE U.S.
SHOULD INCREASE FUNDING FOR LONG COVID RESEARCH.
Eighty-two percent of physicians and 76% of the public said it’s
important for the U.S. to increase Long COVID research funding.
Notably, support for Long COVID research crosses party lines,
with 73% of Republican physicians saying more funding isneeded, including 28% who said it’s “very important.” Among
Democrat physicians, 92% said Long COVID research funding isimportant, including 41% of who said it’s “very important.”

are confident treating patients with Long COVID. More than half ofphysicians (52%) said they have treated patients with Long COVID,
and they are more confident than physicians who have not treatedpatients with the condition. Of the physicians who have treatedpatients with Long COVID, 56% said they are confident in diagnosing
the condition, and 42% said they are confident treating it.

HOW CONFIDENT ARE YOU DIAGNOSING PATIENTS WITHLONG COVID?

Among the public, Democrats were most likely to say they
support increased research funding (89%), with 56% saying it is“very important.” That compares with 63% of Republicans whosaid it’s important and 28% who said it’s “very important.”

at allconfidentconfident

confident

Not surprisingly, the gap between Democrat and Republican
physicians (19%) was smaller than the partisan gap amongthe public (26%).
tooconfident

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR THE U.S. TO INCREASE RESEARCHFUNDING FOR LONG COVID?
HOW CONFIDENT ARE YOU TREATING PATIENTS WITHLONG COVID?
confident
at allconfident
confident

tooconfident

42%
10%
MOST PHYSICIANS SAY THEY HAVE READ LONG
COVID RESEARCH.

34%

Primary care providers are more likely than other physicians tosay they have read Long COVID research (67%), consider Long
COVID a recognizable clinical diagnosis (78%), and have treatedpatients with Long COVID (63%).

HAVE YOU READ RESEARCH ON LONG COVID?

PHYSICIANS ARE NOT CONFIDENT IN THEIR ABILITY TO
DIAGNOSE OR TREAT LONG COVID.
Only 46% of physicians said they are somewhat or very confident
diagnosing patients with Long COVID. Even fewer – 28% – said theyYESNO0102030

405060708090100

4ACTION NEEDEDMETHODOLOGY

The Morning Consult poll findings demonstrate that physiciansrecognize the seriousness of the condition, but most say they
are unprepared to diagnose and treat patients with Long
COVID. The medical community, policymakers, and otherleaders must take immediate steps to train physicians, educate
the public, and invest in more research on Long COVID.

1.

On behalf of the de Beaumont Foundation, Morning
Consult conducted a national online poll Dec. 9-19,2022, among a sample of 806 physicians. Survey results
have a margin of error of +/-3%. Medical respondents
were physicians who spend at least half their time
performing direct patient care (time spent managingpatients, including patient office visits, performingprocedures, patient-related phone calls, follow-ups,etc.). The respondents included primary care providers,acute care physicians, urgent care physicians, hospitalphysicians, and other types of physician specialists.

PR OV IDE TR A IN IN G FO R P H Y SI C I AN S.
Physicians, especially primary care physicians, needtraining in how to identify and treat Long COVID symptoms.
In its report “Health+Long Covid,” the U.S. Departmentof Health and Human Services recommends engaging
academic partners to launch an “expansive outreachcampaign to train health care providers through in-person
and virtual presentations on what Long COVID is, how toidentify it, and suggested care pathways.” HHS also calls
for additional training on Long COVID and other infectious
diseases in medical schools – including recommending“expanding course requirements to include ‘narrative
medicine,’ an approach that widens the view of people withLong COVID beyond their medical histories.”

2.

INCR EA S E F EDER AL FU N D I N G FO R R E SE AR C HO N L ON G COV ID.
Policymakers should note the widespread, bipartisan
support – among physicians and the public – for increasing
funding for Long COVID research. More research isneeded to build on programs like the National Institutes of
Health’s RECOVER initiative (Researching COVID to Enhance
Recovery), which Congress is supporting at a funding levelof more than $1 billion over four years.

3.

A companion poll of the general population wasconducted Dec. 10-14, 2022, among 2,210 adults. Resultsfrom this sample have a margin of error of +/- 2%. The
data among adults was weighted to approximate a target
sample of adults based on gender, age, race, educational
attainment, and region.

REFERENCES AND SOURCES
1.

“Long Covid may be ‘the next public health disaster’ -- with a $3.7
trillion economic impact rivaling the Great Recession,” by Greg
Iacurci, CNBC.com, Nov. 30, 2022

2.

“Characterizing Long COVID in an International Cohort:
7 Months of Symptoms and Their Impact,” by Hannah E. Davis, Gina
S. Assaf, Lisa McCorkell, Hannah Wei, Ryan J. Low, Yochai Re’em,
Signe Redfield, Jared P. Austin, and Athena Akrami, EClinicalMedicine,July 15, 2021

3.

Household Pulse Survey, 2022–2023: Long COVID, National Centerfor Health Statistics. U.S. Census Bureau

4.

“Global Burden of Disease Long COVID Collaborators. EstimatedGlobal Proportions of Individuals With Persistent Fatigue, Cognitive,
and Respiratory Symptom Clusters Following Symptomatic
COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021,” JAMA, Oct. 10, 2022

5.

“Long COVID has had a brutal effect on the workforce, study finds,” byPriya Joi, Gavi Vaccines Work, Jan. 26, 2023

6.

“What doctors wish patients knew about long COVID,” by Sara Berg,AMA News Wire, March 11, 2022

7.

“Long COVID Has Forced a Reckoning for One of Medicine’s Most
Neglected Diseases,” by Ed Yong, The Atlantic, Sept. 26, 2022

8.

“Long COVID Stigma: Estimating Burden and Validating Scale in a
UK-Based Sample,” by Marija Pantelic, Nida Ziauddeen, Mark Boyes,Margaret E. O’Hara, Claire Hastie, and Nisreen A. Alwan, PLOS ONE,Nov. 23, 2022

9.

“Health+ Long COVID Human-Centered Design Report,” Office ofthe Assistant Secretary for Health, U.S. Department of Health andHuman Services, Nov. 2022

IMP R OVE PUBL IC E D U C AT I O N TO CO U NT E R
S KEP TICIS M , S TIG MA, AND D I SC R I MI NAT I O N .
Most people with Long COVID report that they have faced
skepticism from employers, doctors, friends, and/or family
members. In a survey of 1,100 people who had a diagnosis
of Long COVID or have been told by their doctors thatthey have symptoms, nearly two in three (63%) said they
had faced direct stigma and discrimination about theircondition. Ninety-two percent agreed that “many people
tend to think Long COVID isn’t a real illness,” and 78%
agreed with the statement, “I worry that people may judge
me negatively when they learn I have Long COVID.” Thestudy’s lead author, Marija Pantelic, said, “We desperately
need clear, consistent messaging that Long COVID is real
and that it can happen to anyone. It’s not a disease of theweak or the stressed-out.”