Thread by @fearnley_k

My personal experience of Long Covid and thoughts on the governments plan to ‘live with COVID’

Key messages: 🧵

news.sky.com/story/doctor-w…

The governments strategy to ‘live with COVID’ is a strategy of denial. Scrapping of protections (free lateral flow, masks, all but ending tracing, mandatory isolation) will allow for the unmitigated spread of COVID which is both dangerous and irresponsible.

Not only do government plans fail to follow the science, they also fail to follow the money.

Through reduced testing, scrapping of financial support during isolation, and all but ending the tracing system, the government hopes to reduce annual costs from 15 billion to 1.3 billion. Making a saving of 14BN

Yet, the human and economic burden of Long Covid alone will dwarf the sums of money they expect to save through their strategy to ‘live with COVID’. It neither makes moral nor economic sense.

Healthcare workers who fell ill caring for covid positive patients unprotected at work, face threat of being abandoned in their hour of need. We must continue to support those who are too unwell to work with Long Covid.

There is an ongoing pathological process occurring in Long Covid which urgently needs addressing. It’s not rehabilitation patients need.

‘Learning to live with COVID’ would involve some actual learning.

Masks are a short term solution; the installation of air filtration systems are a long-term investment. We must now treat air quality by the same standards by which we treat water quality.

It is time for the UK government started investing in our future.

Omicron will not be the last variant of concern and this will not be the last pandemic.

@DavidMercerSky @SkyNews @LongCovidSOS #TreatLongCovid #WearAMask #FFP3 #CovidIsNotOver #COVIDisAirborne #LongCovid #LongCovidKids #COVID19