Villains exposed: Are the government to blame for the mishandling of Long Covid?
The Long Covid Groups have launched a new campaign today to coincide with Boris Johnson’s appearance in front of the Covid Inquiry. Activists are hoping the project helps ministers realise the virus should never have been ‘side-lined, disbelieved and ignored.’
In July 2022 the government set up the UK Covid-19 Inquiry to examine the nations preparedness and response to the global pandemic. However, the scheme has since exposed various appalling views from the government during 2020-21, especially things said by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Since the beginning of the inquiry it has come to light that Mr Johnson did not take the pandemic seriously. WhatsApp messages have been released between himself and the rest of his cabinet where Mr Johnson has been exposed for saying things such as ‘I no longer buy all this NHS overwhelmed stuff’, and after finding out the majority of people dying from Covid-19 were over 80, he said: ‘That is above life expectancy. So get Covid and live longer.’
As you can imagine these exchanges have caused uproar throughout England. Thousands of people lost loved ones and thousands continue to struggle with the virus, particularly in long form.
As a result, The Long Covid Groups, who are comprised of volunteer-led charities and associations of Long Covid support such as Long Covid SOS, Long Covid Physio and Long Covid Kids, have set up a campaign known as #ItCouldHappenToYou which was broadcast on the side of a ‘digivan’, as well as the message ‘Anyone can get Long Covid’, and driven through the streets of London as Boris Johnson gave his evidence today, 6th December, at the Covid Inquiry.
Despite written appeals from the groups that Long Covid should be a consideration in policy making decisions, the potential for hundreds of thousands to go on to suffer long-term consequences from a Covid-19 infection was never given the importance it deserved. There are now 1.9 million people impacted in the UK, including 62,000 children.
As well as the campaign being launched, a letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was also delivered to No 10 at 2:30pm demanding increased investment into urgent biomedical research and clinical trials for Long Covid. The £50m invested by the government in 2021 is now spent, and while other countries are investing significant sums into research to help prevent and cure this debilitating condition, the UK is lagging behind with researchers struggling for money.
‘It is clear from the evidence presented to the Inquiry that for our government, Long Covid was and continues to be an inconvenient truth,’ Ondine Sherwood, co-founder of Long Covid SOS said. ‘The sidelining of this condition and prioritisation of the economy over health has resulted in almost 3% of the UK population suffering ongoing harm from Covid-19, and the impact to the workforce is now being keenly felt.’
In addition, Amitava Banerjee, professor of clinical data science and honorary consultant cardiologist and Long Covid SOS trustee said: ‘Without urgent, further funding for Long Covid research, there is a danger that we will be unable to see through or translate existing research across studies, such as STIMULATE-ICP, and help the many patients still in need of recognition, research, and rehabilitation.’
Although NHS England have set up more than 90 Long Covid clinics there is no cure and no validated treatments, just symptom relief. These clinics are accepting fewer than 2000 new referrals each month and in Scotland, there are no clinics available with only patchy provision in Wales and Northern Ireland.
Image: engin akyurt
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