Warning to anyone who’s had Covid in last two years over increased risk of death

THOSE who’ve had Covid are at increased risk of dying for up to two years after infection, new research suggests.

Most Brits have already been infected with the bug, with many having had it more than once.

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The majority of people have a level of protection from the virus following a mammoth vaccine rollout, as well as prior infection.

But scientists in the US have discovered those hospitalised by Covid have a higher chance of dying during the years after infection, compared to people who didn’t fall ill.

Previous studies found respiratory and heart issues persisted for months after an inital Covid infection.

But the new study, published in Nature Medicine, found as far as two years after infection people who were hospitalised with the bug faced a far greater chance of dying.

They were also at higher risk of severe health complications like lung disease, diabetes, and general fatigue – also known as ‘long Covid’.

The experts found two years after infection the risk of death declines.

For patients who weren’t hospitalised by the killer virus, it takes just six months for the risk of death to no longer be significant, it added.

However, this group isn’t spared of all the horrible side effects of the virus.

Those who didn’t end up in hospital are at increased risk of over 20 medical conditions, it said.

Among these conditions, are: cardiovascular issues and blood clotting trouble, diabetes, gastrointestinal problems and kidney disorders.

Study author Doctor Ziyad Al-Aly, an epidemiologist from Washington University, said: “A lot of people think, ‘I got Covid, I got over it and I’m fine.

“Maybe you’ve forgotten about the Covid… but Covid did not forget about you.

“It’s still wreaking havoc in your body.”

The study was based on the medical records of almost 140,000 US veterans who were diagnosed with Covid during the early days of the pandemic.

Scientists compared the veteran’s health data against a control group of almost six million who weren’t known to have been infected.

The study highlights that the sample group was not representative of the general population as veterans were older and mostly male.

It comes as a new Covid variant has emerged.

Dubbed BA2.86, the new Omicron spin-off comes hot on the heels of the EG5.1 “Eris” variant, which made its way onto the Covid stage in July.

Eris currently accounts for around 15 per cent of all cases in the UK, according to UK Health Security data.

Between August 6 and August 12, 6,289 people had a confirmed positive test result in England.

This shows an increase of 17.4 per cent compared to the previous seven days.

Experts have suggested this sudden surge in cases could be because of poor weather in July prompting people to gather indoors without ventilation to keep them safe.