Almost half a million Aussies could get long COVID

There are concerns Australia is facing a surge in long COVID cases, which could have serious and lasting impacts on the community and put further strain on hospitals.

Researchers investigating the illness in Australia say five per cent of people who get COVID-19 could develop the condition.

That means of the nine million Australians who've had the virus since the start of the pandemic, more than 450,000 would develop long COVID.

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But if most of the nation wasn't vaccinated, it's estimated that number would be double.

The World Health Organisation says someone has the condition if they have symptoms three months after having developing COVID-19 and they last for at least two months.

Common symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath, brain fog and changes to taste and smell.

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Those symptoms could follow immediately on from the initial illness, or relapse over time.

Studies have found women are 22 per cent more likely to be diagnosed with the condition than men.

Health experts say it's more important than ever, if you haven't had COVID-19, do everything you can to avoid it.