Tuesday, 17 March 2026, 4:04 pm
Press Release: Long Covid Support Aotearoa
The Ministry of Health has today released national survey
data showing the scale
of Long Covid in New Zealand.
By June 2025, the
survey estimates more than 400,000
Kiwi adults may have developed Long Covid
at some point – including about 185,000
still experiencing symptoms.
Results from the
just-released 2024/25 New Zealand Health Survey
indicate:
The equivalent of 185,000
adults in New Zealand was experiencing Long Covid
at the time of the survey (July 2024 to June
2025).About 1 in 11 adults (9.2%
or roughly 401,000 people) reported ever
having Long Covid symptoms following a Covid-19
infection.This represents 11.9% of
adults who reported having had
Covid-19.Women, Māori and disabled adults were
more likely to report having had Long Covid.Of
those who’d had Covid, about 1 in 6 Māori
adults (15.5%) reported having had Long Covid,
compared to about 1 in 9 non-Māori adults
(11.3%).Nearly half of those who
developed Long Covid were still experiencing symptoms when
surveyed.
Long Covid Support Aotearoa says it
only learned this week that the national health survey
included a question on Long Covid.
Advertisement – scroll to continue reading
“We’re
surprised it took so long for the data to become public —
nine months after the survey ended,” said spokesperson
Larisa Hockey.
Just last week the group called
for better national monitoring of Long Covid. It said an
estimated 250,000 Kiwis could be affected based on overseas
prevalence studies.
“Today’s survey suggests about
185,000 New Zealanders were living with Long Covid symptoms
at the time of the survey — roughly the population of
Hamilton and broadly consistent with the earlier
estimate,” Hockey said.
“It also suggests more
than 400,000 people may have experienced Long Covid at some
stage, about the combined population of Wellington and
Hamilton.”
Long Covid Support Aotearoa members say
the results are sobering. While based on self-reported data,
the nationally-representative health survey is a respected
cornerstone of Health Ministry statistics across
conditions.
“We’re shocked and concerned that so
many people have been underserved by New Zealand’s health
authorities,” Hockey said.
Long Covid – and
associated health conditions such as ME/CFS –
remains poorly recognised and under-supported in New
Zealand, despite growing international evidence about its
impacts. Many with the condition face loss or reduction of
employment, housing insecurity, and severe limitations in
daily life.
The group is also questioning why the data
has only now been released.
On Friday both the
Ministry of Health and Health New Zealand told TVNZ’s
Breakfast programme they had “no plans for Long Covid
monitoring nor for any economic analysis.”
“Now
that the scale of the problem is clearer, we want to know
why there are still no plans to monitor it,” Hockey
said.
“Does the current 2025–26 New Zealand Health
Survey include questions on Long Covid, for
example?”
Catherine Appleby, a Long Covid Support
Aotearoa nurse practitioner, said the results were deeply
concerning.
“This is sobering information.
Government inaction is letting the problem grow,” she
said.
“In particular, the relatively high Māori
prevalence of Long Covid is unacceptable. This significant
inequity is an urgent public health issue that deserves
government attention,” Appleby said.
“In the words
of Malala Yousafzai: we don’t want sympathy — we want
action.”
Using Scoop for work?
Scoop is free for personal use, but you”ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.
Join Pro Individual
Find out more