Researchers and clinicians in Canada and across the world are still working on understanding and defining post COVID-19 condition, also known as long COVID. Some people experience symptoms more than 12 weeks after getting COVID-19. The condition can result in diverse and long-term symptoms that are not traceable to another diagnosis. The effects of this condition can result in significant impacts on people’s lives.
This information is for:
- Yukoners with post COVID-19 condition;
- families and caregivers;
- doctors; and
- other service providers.
Find more information about living with post-COVID-19 symptoms and how to manage them.
For medical advice for post COVID-19 condition, contact your health care provider.
How we developed this information
The purpose of this information is to ensure that reliable resources and information are available for people with post COVID-19 condition.
The Post COVID-19 Working Group was formed in May 2022 to discuss emerging research about this condition and to create a resource for Yukoners or those caring for Yukoners with post COVID-19 condition. This resource is a result of discussions within the group over several months to determine the most important issues and concerns. Group members with lived experience of this condition identified challenges that Yukoners with post COVID-19 might face and provided insights into ways to address them.
This resource is for information and educational purposes only, and is not necessarily an endorsement by the Government of Yukon. We may add, change or delete information as research develops.
Use the lists below to find:
- Information for Indigenous Yukoners
- Supports and services
- Resources for managing symptoms
- Research and information about post COVID-19 condition
- Resources for health care providers
- Clinical pathways for post COVID-19 condition in other jurisdictions
Use the collapsible lists below to expand the information.
Supports and services
This is not a complete list of programs and services available to Indigenous Yukoners. Other programs and services listed in this resource apply to the general public as well as Indigenous Yukoners.
Government of Canada
The Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program currently provides coverage for eligible people for a range of health benefits that are not covered through other social programs, private insurance plans or provincial or territorial health insurance.
You can get additional information about services that the Non-Insured Health Benefits program covers by contacting the offices located in the Yukon for:
For information, contact the Non-Insured Health Benefits program office in the Yukon.
Information on other federal sources of support available can be accessed through the Benefits Finder tool.
Social Assistance
People who have experienced post COVID-19 symptoms for a long time might need to find income support to cover their needs. Contact your First Nation for more information on social assistance. Social assistance is available for anyone between 19 and 64 years of age that meet the criteria.
This Government of Canada provides additional information about Income Assistance for indigenous persons.
Referral information
You do not need a referral for social assistance programs.
Resources for managing symptoms
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada has mental health support for different groups such as youth, older adults and Indigenous people with numbers to call.
Hope for Wellness Helpline
Hope for Wellness Helpline provides support such as telephone and online chat services with culturally competent counsellors available to all Indigenous people across Canada, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Government of Yukon services
People experiencing the symptoms of post COVID-19 condition can access many existing Yukon government services. This list outlines some of the available services that a Yukoner with post-COVID-19 might find useful.
Connecting with a health care provider
If you have symptoms of post COVID-19 condition, contact your health care provider or community health centre.
If you do not have a family doctor, a service is available to help you find a family doctor.
Getting the most from your appointment
There are many ways you can increase the likelihood that your health care provider understands your symptoms and concerns. You can:
- write down all the symptoms that you’re experiencing as they occur including how long you’ve had them;
- record the time you first experienced symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath, difficulty thinking or concentrating and general pain and discomfort related to a COVID-19 infection; and
- have a friend or family member help you record these symptoms and go to medical appointments with you to write down your doctor’s recommendations in a notebook.
Specialist and clinic referral information
If you feel that you might benefit from services offered through the Visiting Specialist Clinic at Whitehorse General Hospital or online through the Post-COVID-19 Interdisciplinary Care Network contact your health care provider, such as your physician, nurse or nurse practitioner to discuss.
In rural communities, you can get information about possible options through your health centre.
Programs and services
Chronic Conditions Support Program
The Chronic Conditions Support Program (CCSP) is a patient-centred, collaborative care team. It offers a variety of programs and services for Yukoners living with chronic health conditions. The program does not currently offer specific post COVID-19 condition support.. However, some programs and services may be of benefit for Yukoners living with this condition.
Referral information
All programs and services are free of charge, do not need a referral and are available to Yukoners aged 18 and older.
Social Assistance
People who have experienced post COVID-19 symptoms for a long time might need to find income support to cover their needs. You can use the list of the social services offices in the Yukon to find an office close to your home.
Social assistance is available for anyone between 19 and 64 years of age that meet the criteria. See “Who can receive social assistance?” for more information. In some cases, people might also be eligible for The Yukon Supplementary Allowance.
Referral information
You do not need a referral for social assistance programs.
Insured Health
Insured Health provides financial assistance with medical travel outside of the Yukon for people who are eligible and for physician services that come under legislation. For Insured Health to cover a service, such as a visit to a post-COVID-19 condition clinic, in British Columbia (B.C.), the provider in B.C. needs to be able to bill for their services through a billing agreement with the Government of Yukon.
Referral information
Yukoners with persistent symptoms who require medical travel for physician services outside of the Yukon need to contact their physician or a nurse practitioner for a referral.
Mental Wellness and Substance Use
Mental Wellness and Substance Use provides support, including 1 to 1 counselling, short-term counselling and educational sessions about a variety of mental wellness topics. See the list for descriptions of services and the process to follow to access these services or call 867-456-3838 to discuss all the different options available.
In many cases there is no registration, intake or commitment required to access certain services. Counselling for people supporting someone with mental health or substance use issues is also available.
Yukoners living in communities outside of Whitehorse are able to access counselling services through hubs in Watson Lake, Haines Junction, Carmacks and Dawson.
Referral information
You do not need a referral although in some cases there are eligibility requirements for services.
The Child, Youth and Family Treatment Team (CYFTT) provides counselling and support services for school aged children, youth and their families.
Referral information
You can refer yourself or get a referral from your school, medical office or community organization.
Home Care Program
Home Care services assesses people’s needs. Services include social work, home support, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, nursing, speech language pathology and coordination of care.
Referral information
You may refer yourself to Home Care services or have someone call on your behalf. People are eligible for Home Care if they have, or have applied for, a Yukon Health Care Insurance Plan (healthcare card), and are assessed as having a need for services. Find out more about the Home Care Program and how to get an assessment.
The Child Development Centre
- The Child Development Centre does not offer respite care if a parent is living with post-COVID condition.
- The Child Development Centre supports children from newborn to age 5 in all Yukon communities. We provide a range of therapeutic supports, including physiotherapy, speech-language therapy and occupational therapy We also employ developmental therapists who help support children’s behaviour/social-emotional development and we employ child psychologists.
- If a child has post-COVID condition and requires developmental supports, the Child Development Centre can provide support in the areas listed above.
- It is important to note we provide supports to all children, not just those with a diagnosis. Parents and caregivers can contact us if they have any questions regarding their child’s development.
- Our services are free and confidential. Parents/caregivers can refer themselves, or referrals can be made by a physician, nurse, social worker or other family member. Referrals can be made at www.cdcyukon.ca/referral or by calling 867-456-8182.
Government of Canada services
The Government of Canada provides a variety of reliable resources and links to information about post COVID-19 condition, research and available services.
The Government of Canada provides services that people with post COVID-19 condition can access including Employment Insurance (EI), sickness benefits and Canada Pension Plan Disability Benefits. You can access information on other federal sources of support available through the Benefits Finder tool.
Find additional supports and services
Additional services such as physiotherapy and massage might be available through extended benefits programs with your employer. Counselling to help with any life changes to do with living with post COVID-19, may also be available through your employee assistance program.
There are several support groups for adults and youth with post COVID-19, including a private Facebook group for Yukoners. Local and national mental health and wellness supports are also available for people and their families.
The following resources provide a starting point for learning more about post COVID-19 condition and ways you can manage your symptoms.
Government of Yukon
Call 811 for 24-hour health information and advice. Registered nurses can answer your health questions or direct you to someone in your community who can help you.
Alberta Health Services
Getting Healthy After COVID-19: Resources for Patients provides general information and videos about common post COVID-19 symptoms along with resources for caregivers and educators.
British Columbia’s Provincial Health Services Authority
The Post COVID-19 Interdisciplinary Clinical Care Network:
- outlines common post COVID-19 symptoms and provides self-care information to help cope with these symptoms;
- shows practical tips and tools for people with post COVID-19 condition listed under additional care info; and
- provides videos on general tips on financial management during times of illness and detailed information on income support programs available through Government of Canada and resources available in B.C.
CANCOV
CANCOV provides tools such as:
- an online video on ways to cope with fatigue;
- tips on activity pacing;
- information on managing breathing; and
- questions and answers about long-haul COVID.
Government of the United States, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Find general information about the condition, resources for family members and several practical guides such as Patient Tips: Healthcare Provider Appointments for Post COVID Conditions.
Manitoba Shared Health
Get tips from Manitoba Shared Health on how to manage common post COVID-19 symptoms for adults, children and teens.
Mental Health and Wellness Support
Get a list of a local and national mental health and wellness support services with contact information.
Wellness Together Canada
Wellness Together Canada offers a variety of resources related to mental health and substance use for adults and resources for youth such as Kids Help Phone.
This section provides general information on post-COVID condition and related research studies.
We’re providing this information so Yukoners can consider a variety of sources of information for post COVID-19 condition. This information is not intended as an endorsement of particular research findings or approaches.
Information quality
Health Evidence™ has a variety of tools you can use to check the quality of journal articles and improve searches for information, as well as a database of reviews on a wide range of public health topics, which are quality-rated.
British Columbia’s Provincial Health Services Authority
Post COVID-19 Interdisciplinary Clinical Care Network provides information on opportunities to be involved in post COVID -19 condition research and personal accounts of the ways people have coped with post COVID -19 condition.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)
- Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) publishes articles on post COVID-19 condition.
- You can find additional media reports about the condition by searching on the CBC website.
- Find media coverage of research about post COVID-19 condition.
- Get transcript and audio of an interview with someone with post COVID-19 condition.
- View a summary of subjects of debate about post COVID-19 condition such as prevalence, common symptoms and contentious issues.
Canada’s Drug and Health Technology Agency (CADTH)
Canada’s Drug and Health Technology Agency (CADTH) provides various reports related to evidence and resources for post COVID-19 condition.
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Canadian Institutes of Health Research provides various research reports focused on COVID– 19.
British Columbia First Nations Health Authority
British Columbia First Nations Health Authority resources include general information and a video.
Government of Canada
Government of Canada has general information about post COVID-19 condition, including common symptoms, and links to income support information, publications, research reports, updates to funding, support groups and the latest post COVID-19 condition report.
Statistics Canada in Partnership with the Public Health Agency of Canada gives insights on Canadians who experienced long-term symptoms after testing positive for COVID-19 or suspected prior COVID-19 infection from the COVID-19 Antibody and Health Survey. People in the 3 Canadian territories were not included in this survey.
Long Covid Resources – Canada
Long Covid Resources – Canada was created by a “long hauler” and provides links to resources from each Canadian province and territory, and studies in those regions, as well as information about long COVID and children.
Long COVID Alliance
Long COVID Alliance contains resources from a network of drug developers, scientists, patient-advocates and others with an interest in post viral illness.
National Institute for Health Care Research
National Institute for Health Care Research highlights studies in the United Kingdom that examine underlying mechanisms of post COVID symptoms and possible treatments.
Long COVID Web
Long COVID Web provides support and conducts research into the complex biological, social, cultural, and environmental interactions that determine the health of ost COVID-19 condition patients and their families, as well as to improve the health of individuals, communities, and global populations in general.
Patient–Led Research Collaborative
Patient–Led Research Collaborative
An analysis of the Prolonged COVID-19 Symptoms Survey by Patient Led Research Team provides a summary of patient-directed research about people’s experiences. The site also features other research led by people with post COVID-19 condition. As the researchers indicate, given the methodology, the findings cannot be applied to all people with post –COVID-19 condition.
The World Health Organization
The World Health Organization provides general information about post COVID-19 condition, including common symptoms and extensive information about coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
CanCOVID
CanCOVID is an organization committed to open science and dedicated to rapidly mobilizing knowledge to help inform Canada’s COVID-19 response. They have a list of trusted resources, including quick links to published literature and guides to help search the literature.
Evidence for Policy and Practice Centre
The Evidence for Policy and Practice Centre has created a living research evidence systemic map on COVID-19. The living map consists of bibliographic records of research articles on COVID-19 published since 2019.
The information provided is for health professionals so they can consider a variety of sources of information for post COVID-19 condition. The sources included are not intended as an endorsement of particular research findings or approaches. As post COVID-19 condition is a newly emerging condition many of the studies are with limited sample sizes and other limitations that need to be taken into account. Certain studies are included as they the topics covered in the resource were of interest to Working Group members. Tools found on Health Evidence™ can help you assess the quality of the listed studies.
General information and research
Find general information, links to collections of research, tools and training opportunities related to post COVID-19 condition intended for healthcare professionals.
CanCOVID is an organization committed to open science and dedicated to rapidly mobilizing knowledge to help inform Canada’s COVID-19 response. They have a list of trusted resources, including quick links to published literature and guides to help search the literature.
LitCOVID is a literature hub for tracking up-to-date scientific information about COVID-19. It includes a section on Long COVID and a search tool to look for topics of interest, including low dose naltrexone and mast cell disorder.
Canada’s Drug and Health Technology Agency (CADTH) has many reports related to evidence and resources for post COVID-19 condition.
Centres for Disease Control and Prevention provide information and an overview for healthcare providers. Read the National Research Action Plan on Long COVID.
The Centre for Effective Practice, in collaboration with McMaster University, Ontario College of Family Physicians and Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario provides a COVID-19: Clinical Guidance for Primary Care Providers.
COVID-19 Evidence Network to support Decision-making (COVID-END) contains resources for researchers and the public, along with material to support decision makers. Canadian specific COVID-19 content is available including updates published twice a month.
COVID-19 Real Time Learning Network links to studies about post COVID-19 condition from across the world.
The Government of Canada provides the following resources:
- Post COVID-19 condition for health professionals
- COVID-19 virtual library of health data and evidence
- Statistics Canada in Partnership with the Public Health Agency of Canada which includes insights on Canadians who experienced long-term symptoms after testing positive for COVID-19 or suspected prior COVID-19 infection from the COVID-19 Antibody and Health Survey. People in the 3 Canadian territories were not included in this survey.
Long COVID Physio is an international peer support, education and advocacy group of physiotherapists with post COVID-19 from the United States and the United Kingdom. There are a wide range of resources including educational videos that would be suitable for anyone with an interest in the topic.
Lung Saskatchewan has a list of links to a variety of resources related to COVID-19 with a focus on respiratory health.
Bradcliff Breathing Method® has self-directed online training on the Bradcliff Breathing Method.
Public Health Agency of Canada, from the Office of the Chief Science Officer (OCSO), provides a biweekly update presenting an analysis of new evidence, guidance and issues related to post COVID-19 condition and synthesizes the current state of knowledge. Read the OCSO Biweekly Scan of Evidence #27.
Rapid Access to Consultative Expertise (RACE) connects primary care providers to their specialist colleagues for urgent advice. Primary care providers can either place an online request (www.raceapp.ca) or call a telephone line (1-877-696-2131) for urgent specialist advice within 2 hours.
Find information about post COVID-19 clinical pathways and clinical resources from a variety of jurisdictions.
American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Multidisciplinary PASC Collaborative
The references in the journal report Multi-disciplinary collaborative consensus guidance statement of the assessment and treatment of cognitive symptoms in patients with post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) includes a long list of studies related to cognitive symptoms associated with post COVID-19 condition.
Alberta Health Services
Recovery and Rehabilitation after COVID-19: Resources for Health Professionals includes a section entitled “Screening and Pathways for Rehabilitation and Recovery”. There are several clinical pathways and resources in this section specific to different zones of the province.
National Library of Medicine – National Center for Biotechnology Information
The article Development of a Pathway for post COVID conditions outlines the development of a rehabilitation framework in Alberta.
British Columbia Provincial Health Services Authority
- Post COVID-19 Recovery Care includes centralized resources for the latest evidence and recommendations for managing post COVID-19 condition symptoms. “Clinical Care” includes information about Rapid Access to Specialist Consultation (RACE), post COVID-19 recovery clinics and the referral process and other resources.
- Post COVID-19 Recovery Care Pathway Clinical Pathway for British Columbia
- Post COVID-19 Recovery Training
Ontario Health
Post COVID-19 Condition: Guidance for Primary Care provides a clinical pathway and detailed supporting information with numerous links to additional resources related to the clinical pathway.
Manitoba Shared Health
- Clinical post COVID-19 referral pathway in Winnipeg
- Related information is available on including clinical pathways for different regions.
- The COVID-19 Yorkshire Rehab Screen has been adapted for use in Manitoba to assess patients for presence and level of impact of symptoms across several categories.
Nova Scotia Health
- Post COVID in Primary Health Care Practice provides links to 8 types of resources including training materials and published literature.
- Post COVID-19 Care Model includes a 5-page summary and other resources in the COVID-19 hub.
Canada Strategy for Patient Oriented Research and COVID-END Resources
COVID-END contains resources for researchers and the public, along with material to support decision makers. Canadian specific COVID-19 content is available including updates published twice a month.
Care Models for Long COVID is a systematic review of Canadian care models for post COVID-19 condition.
United Kingdom, East and North Hertfordshire
Primary care pathways for East and North Hertfordshire was used as a resource in order to develop the clinical pathway for Manitoba.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines (SIGN) and Royal College of General Practitioners
COVID-19 rapid guideline: managing the long-term effects of COVID-19 includes a review of numerous studies and an assessment of the quality of the evidence in these studies, as well as detailed recommendations and resources about care.
British Journal of General Practice
Recommendations for the recognition, diagnosis, and management of long COVID: a Delphi study includes recommendations related to the management of post COVID-19 condition and clinical pathways based upon emerging experience of a panel of primary and secondary care doctors in the UK. Note that this study is dated November 2021