Covid is far from over. The last years have shown the severe effects that some people are left with after a virus infection. In the case of covid this is summarized under the term long-covid. World wide over 100 Million people are suffering with numbers increasing drastically with each infection wave. It is estimated that with every reinfection around 10% of infected people develop long-covid symptoms. These symptoms often leave affected people unable to live their life’s, work or even unable to leave their bed.
Although we are now in year 5 after the start of the pandemic, there is still no treatment to cure the disease and most of its symptomatic is far from being understood. And that while the disease is not unknown. ME/CFS – which is a quite similar disease to Long-Covid and also triggered through virus infection – is known for decades already. But compared to other diseases like Multiple Sclerosis research and knowledge about ME/CFS lacks around 40 years behind. This clearlly shows that unless politicians are stepping-up change is likely not to accure in the Long-Covid sphere either.
Patient-led organisations like NotRecovered highlight the lack of political will to truly help these millions of patients, who are confronted with not only a lack of political will but also still false stigma on the side of many doctors. These patients thus feel now obliged to call for change themselves and to publicly fighting to increase awareness by setting-up billboards arround the world.
The aim of the billboard campaign is to show the true severity of the disease; to make it clear that an enormous number of people are affected; and that effective therapies are urgently needed.
