Jenni was an avid reader - but now she can barely digest a page after suffering with long COVID

Jenni Sinclair was an avid reader but now she can barely digest the words on a page.

The 62-year-old has experienced lingering fatigue, headaches and brain fog after her first case of COVID-19 over a year ago and has since been diagnosed with long COVID.

"I couldn't concentrate, couldn't focus... I'm normally a person who has great attention to detail, I'd miss things, I'd have memory lapses," Sinclair said.

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She is one of hundreds of thousands. Approximately one in 25 Australians are struggling with long COVID.

"I have seen people who are marathon runners who now get breathless when they walk up a flight of stairs," Northern Sydney Long COVID clinic's Dr James Zhang said.

"People who were once very functional that now have their livelihoods taken away."

The new virtual long COVID clinic has opened at the Royal North Shore Hospital.

"Virtual care means we can provide care for them while they're still at home," Zhang said.

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"You'll be validated, you'll be heard and we'll come up with an individualised plan for how we can look after you."

Sinclair said it was really good to have the support of doctors who recognised that long COVID was a legitimate illness and not that you're "imagining the fatigue... the aches and pains".

"It's just the different strategies they have taught me, that have really helped."

While there is no magic bullet when it comes to treating long COVID, experts say a majority of patients do recover after 12 months.

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