I think "long COVID" is too vague to really provide a specific incidence rate - it's more meaningful to look at the incidence rates of particular symptoms long after infection.

The study I linked finds 27.9% incidence of "confusion/brain fog/trouble focusing attention" and 20.7% incidence of short-term memory loss 8 months after symptomatic COVID infection (confirmed with antibody testing), compared to 14.7% and 5.6% respectively in the control group (who tested negative for COVID antibodies).

I don't know or really care if "long COVID" is the right term for what those folks are experiencing, but that result has real practical significance and the rates are way higher than 1%. The same study also finds significant incidence rates for lots of other symptoms that could reasonably fit under the "long COVID" umbrella.

I (40 yo non overweight, non smoker, non diabetic) got COVID back in March last year. I was healthy before that and got a 'mild' case by medical standards. And yet, I developed a nasty pneumonia in one of my lungs at that time.

After more than a year, I still haven't recovered my full lung function. As soon as I get in a room with AC I start to cough, and my lungs are sensitive to cold weather .

It may be 'just' 1 percent... But darn it sucks to win that lottery.

A better measure would be similar to Expected Utility: 1% multiplied by the 'loss' value of living the rest of your life fucked up.

Take a look at this book. Many patients with similar symptoms caused by other diseases have been able to improve just with breathing exercises. There has been significant research in this area, not just pseudoscience woo.

https://www.mrjamesnestor.com/breath