LCK In The News

The Independent reports on a study conducted by the University of Southampton, published in the Health Expectations journal, analysing NHS England data. The study found that 9.1% of individuals suspect they have the condition and 4.8% of people reported actually having long Covid, with higher rates observed in more deprived areas, among specific ethnic groups, parents, carers, and those with other ongoing health issues.

LCK Founder, Sammie McFarland is quoted in this article
“Pacing is a useful strategy, but isn’t curative, and takes time to learn, and even then the goal posts can change and it doesn’t doesn’t always work,” recognises Sammie McFarland, CEO and founder of Long Covid Kids. “The aim is to avoid energy crashes by balancing activity with rest.”
Sometimes medication is prescribed to help with symptoms.
Factors like sleep, nutrition and hydration are also important.

The article advises "Don’t take no for an answer, you know your body best".
“If fatigue is severe or affecting daily life, consider seeing apaediatrician or long Covid specialist (if available) or a cardiologist or neurologist for POTS or autonomic symptoms,” advises McFarland.
“Also seek guidance from an immunologist or allergy specialist if MCAS is suspected or a sleep specialist if sleep disorders contribute to fatigue.”

Journalist Emma Batha reports on the impacts of Long Covid in children, stating that five years after the World Health Organization declared a pandemic, these families feel invisible.

LCK, which now supports more than 11,000 families - predominantly in Britain, but also in countries including Canada, Greece, Italy and the United States - regularly hears of parents having to quit work.
"Families have been evicted for falling behind on their rent, and others are using food banks," McFarland told Context.
Single mum Louise eventually had to give up the job she loved.
"My savings have long gone. I'm maxed out on my overdraft and have debts," said Louise, who withheld her full name to protect her son's privacy.
One mother sent her sick son to live with her parents in the Caribbean to avoid losing her job.

Whilst the UK has the NHS, which is free at the point of use, all nine parents interviewed had been forced to pay for private treatment.
"The health inequalities are vast," McFarland added. "In 10 years' time we're going to clearly see these inequalities play out in the trajectory of these young people's future independence and work opportunities."

Almost £1 million of funding to the Dorset Post-Covid syndrome service is to be cut. The news has left Weymouth campaigner, Sammie McFarland, founder for the charity Long Covid Kids, dismayed at the decision.
She said: "As Covid infections continue and research confirms that Long Covid can last for years, the removal of local services will create a devastating gap in care".
"Many children are too unwell to travel, leaving them completely isolated. Without proper funding, these young patients face worsening symptoms, increased disability, and a bleak future".
"While there is still much work to be done, these services have laid important foundations that must be built upon, not erased".

There have been cases of teenagers suffering from long Covid for more than two years, researchers have said following the largest study of its kind

Experts said more work is needed to understand why some children still have ongoing health problems two years after the infection.

Campaigners said two years is a “long time in the life of a child”.

Experts highlighted this means that 70% who had long Covid three months after infection had recovered by two years. But 30% had not.

Sammie McFarland, from the charity Long Covid Kids, said: “Two years is a long time in the life of a child. While the study reassures us that most participants recovered within this period, the 30% of children and young people still affected highlights that long Covid remains a significant childhood illness and a pressing concern.
This underscores the urgent need for effective treatments to ease the ongoing burden of this illness. Hormonal factors in symptom persistence require further investigation. Whilst the findings offer hope, they also emphasise the need for continued services, research and collaboration, including voices of lived experience, to ensure no child is left behind. Long Covid Kids remains committed to supporting families and advocating for essential resources.”

Dr Margaret O’Hara, a founding trustee at the charity Long Covid Support, said: “The limitations of this study demonstrate the need for new, good quality prospective research into long Covid in children and young people.
“In the fifth year of the pandemic it is astonishing that the true burden of the damage that has been done, and continues to be done, to our children and young people in the UK has not been firmly established.”