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A growing multi-stakeholder group of MPs and peers are demanding an urgent overhaul of services for people with long Covid amid warnings that thousands of new cases will emerge every day as restrictions on coronaviruses are lifted this summer.
Sajid Javid, the health secretary, has been urged by the group of more than 60 parliamentarians to review plans to lift the lockdown due to the expected upsurge in long cases of covid, which experts say could affect in ways disproportionate young people.
The group, which includes former Tory Minister Dan Poulter as well as Labor MPs Lib Dem, Green and SNP, says lifting restrictions when the number of cases rises and the vaccine’s impact on the long-term covid does not is not known “risk of placing a large and unsustainable burden on health services”.
“We are concerned that the government’s decision to lift most public health measures against coronaviruses from July 19 may expose many more people to long covid, including younger age groups who are not still fully vaccinated, ”the group wrote. “This condition leaves many people unable to work or carry out their regular daily activities, with serious consequences for our NHS and our economy.
“Rehabilitation services providing support to longtime Covid patients are already overburdened and underfunded, and the current increase in the number of cases will further increase waiting lists. “
Just under a million people in the UK were living with a long Covid in June. About 700,000 were of working age and 33,000 were children. The number of people affected for a year or more has risen to 385,000, according to official statistics.
Severe cases of long covid in young people have also emerged. Claire Hayes said her daughter Gracie was a bright and successful student at her Northumberland school until July of last year. The 11-year-old has since failed to complete a week in class. “She lost a lot of weight and the fatigue started,” Hayes said. “She had horrible headaches, precipitation, pain. When she gets up, her heart rate doubles. And she has brain fog. Some days she cannot get out of bed because she feels dizzy. Taking a shower is impossible.
Part of the job of long-term Covid clinics is to help sufferers discover their physical limitations, as overwork one day can result in days or weeks in bed. It’s a lot harder for Gracie, her mother said. “Now if she wants to walk to the park and see her friends, you know a few days later she won’t be able to get out of bed for two days. It is heartbreaking.
Fran Simpson of Long Covid Kids said: “Children who have long covid – it has completely destroyed their lives for some of them. They went from kids going to school, seeing their friends, having hobbies, not being able to go to school. Some are not well enough to walk – they use wheelchairs. Others do not eat properly due to the impact on taste and smell. We have the impression that their childhood has been stolen from them.
According to data from the Office for National Statistics, about 7% to 9% of children infected with covid develop long-lasting symptoms.
The group of MPs demand that, at a minimum, the government collect regular data on the number of long-lasting Covid cases and estimates of how these will be affected by the government’s decision to remove the remaining restrictions. He wants the Covid to be considered a major factor in such decisions for a long time, alongside hospitalizations and deaths.
Meanwhile, Javid was also contacted by the Long Covid Support group, made up of more than 40,000 people, advocating for more help and to “act now to avoid further suffering”. The group warns that the wide variety of potential symptoms can be underestimated, citing the potential for organ damage.
“Regardless of the severity of their initial illness, many of our members have been incapacitated and unable to carry out their work, studies or family responsibilities for over a year without a prognosis,” he writes.
The government had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.
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