RECOVER released a paper playing into gaslighting & myths of disability fraud, promoting misleading “scoring” prioritizing #LongCOVID symptoms less common in other conditions - like loss of taste/smell - over those most common in LC itself…
This is repeating bad history: many were harmed and even killed by an #AIDS definition that excluded symptoms common in women and drug users. Diagnostic gatekeeping weaponizes our medical records, fuels care and treatment restrictions, sets patients against one another…
We need biomarkers for #LongCOVID but remember they likely won’t be perfect and will also expose those who don’t fit the profile - biomarkers are tricky in many complex chronic conditions that present in such diverse ways….
Which brings us back to the importance of honest, humble reseach with community leadership and accountability. RECOVER leadership is throwing all of us under the bus in a rush to show Congress they can find results.
This RECOVER JAMA debacle must spur us to action…
… to hold NIH responsible and be a turning point in our relationship scientific powers-that-be. We repudiate toxic finger pointing among advocates - it’s just what those who benefit from LC minimization (pols, insurers, provider networks, COVID deniers, etc) want to happen.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
What We’re Reading: High-risk patients alarmed by CDC’s plan to ease covid isolation guidance, by Fenit Nirappil & Lena Sun in the Washington Post. 🧵
How We’re Responding: Calling & writing our elected officials to demand that the CDC puts people over profits, and writing letters to the editors of our local papers.
Plus check out our Direct Action Toolkit for inspo on taking direct action, ✊tiny.cc/direct-action-…
From the WaPo story:
“Public health officials have justified easing measures to limit covid transmission by pointing to sharp declines in hospitalizations and death since the pandemic began."
We need your votes so that we can engage more people in the fight for pandemic justice & disability justice! Help us bring a patient-led panel on Long COVID to this year’s South by Southwest Conference & Festival - voting closes on Sun 8/20!
As part of an effort to bring critical conversations about #LongCOVID to broader audiences, our co-founder Gabriel San Emeterio (@gabrielhse) is joining forces with fellow longhaulers fi_lowenstein (@fi_lowenstein), Pato Hebert & Miles Griffis (@mileswgriffis) to offer this panel
ABOUT THE PANEL:
We will explore the state of Long COVID today—addressing the growing market developing therapeutics and tools, the status of the Long COVID advocacy movement, and what we can learn from HIV/AIDS.