Delta surge ‘could leave hundreds of thousands with long Covid’

Unvaccinated younger sufferers more at risk of debilitating long-term symptoms, study finds

The decision to lift England's remaining Covid restrictions next Monday - even as cases of the Delta variant surge around the country - is expected to turbocharge the epidemic and push the nation into what one leading scientist called uncharted territory" in terms of the numbers of people left suffering from long Covid.

Ministers have been told to expect at least one to two million coronavirus infections in the coming weeks. And while the mass rollout of vaccines - which started with elderly and vulnerable people - will dramatically reduce the proportion who are hospitalised and die, the wave may leave hundreds of thousands of younger people with long-term health problems, researchers have said.