The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) report into Long COVID was released about a month ago. One important detail is that of the 14 members of the Group, from many different parties, and from both the House of Commons and Lords, just one is a Tory: ex-NHS medic Dr Dan Poulter. Hardly a surprise that those who presided over the pandemic shitshow don’t want to unpick its legacy. Long COVID is extraordinarily prevalent. Close to 1.7 million people – children and adults – according to ONS data have Long COVID. I got COVID in April 2020, and I’ve not been well since. I read the APPG report as a sufferer and an academic who researches work and employment. Here’s what I picked out. Long COVID in the ‘working age population’ Headlines and soundbites in the Long COVID report draw attention to the implications of Long COVID for the working age population – 1.8 million days of absence in the NHS, for example. Similarly, Long COVID brings a whole host of problems for workers: people have had to leave their jobs and wrestle with the insensitive and punitive benefits system. Or they have reduced their hours, employer permitting; or retired early, if … Continue reading The Long COVID Report