“I can’t report my many long-covid cases anywhere”
Over a dozen patients from Res Kielholz suffer from Long Covid. The Zurich family doctor about the underestimated risk of long-term consequences and his frustration that the BAG does not collect any data.
“What was particularly worrying for me was that almost all long-covid sufferers were young people between the ages of 20 and 60 without risk factors”: Res Kielholz works in a group practice for general internal medicine in Uster.
Bild: Urs Jaudas
Herr Kielholz, do you already feel the omicron wave in your practice?
Yes, I have been treating 9 cases since the beginning of December. Those affected were all vaccinated or recovered. As expected, compared to those infected with Delta, they suffered less from coughing and loss of smell, but more from runny nose, sore throat and mostly from severe headaches and tiredness. The course has so far been uncomplicated in 8 cases.
As a family doctor you are in constant contact with sick people, how do you protect yourself?
I consistently wear surgical masks, including FFP2 in special situations, and despite massive exposure to the virus, I have so far been spared. This shows what very good protection the masks offer. With the experience of my first Long Covid patients suffering, I got a bit cold feet, and I often had to suppress the fear of infection, over time I got used to it. Today, I consider the risk of being infected with one’s own children in the family to be greater than when working as a general practitioner.