LCK In The News

"Far from rare, long COVID in kids is devastating families. Experts say schools can do more to help their students" reports Nicole Karlis.
Sammie McFarland, CEO LCK, stresses that educators’ understanding of Long Covid is crucial. Children dealing with this illness are not only suffering physically but also emotionally, feeling isolated from their friends and missing the joy of school life. The current education system is not designed to support them, and as a result, many children are falling through the cracks.
Jennifer Robertson, Laura Covington and Robin Scott discuss their children's experiences of Long Covid, their health needs and their access to education.

The Dorset Echo reports that our CEO and Founder, Sammie McFarland, is thankful that the provisional decision to not give her charity core participant status in module 8 of the Covid Inquiry has been overturned.
They quote Sammie stating that: "The voices of children and young people with Long Covid have been largely absent from conversations throughout the pandemic, allowing opportunity for misinformation, adding to their burden of stigma" and also that she is "relieved and thankful that Baroness Hallett recognised the importance of giving these doubly affected young individuals the opportunity for effective representation in Module 8 through Long Covid Kids, Bhatt Murphy and our legal team."

Nation Cymru reports on a meeting of the Senedd in July, attended by Long Covid Kids Wales Rep Kate Davies and her daughter, Bethan. Three Senedd Members from Plaid, the Conservatives, and Labour listened to stories from Long Covid patients which underlining failures in the current systems of care in Wales.
The paper reports that Bethan was only 16 when she got Covid-19, and when her symptoms persisted, she found that she was not able to be referred to an adult Long Covid specialist, and that no paediatric care offered Long Covid support. “There’s just no provision for kids with Long Covid in Wales.” said her mum, Kate Davies. After listening to these stories, the MSs agreed to co-sign the letter which will be sent to incoming Health Secretary Mark Drakeford in September. “People with Long Covid need to be treated seriously.” said Mr David.
Our team would like to thank Kate and Bethan for attending this meeting and for representing children across Wales struggling to access support for Long Covid.

We are so delighted that the Worcester News was able to report on Libby Parker's excellent set of GCSE results. As they note, Libby has been battling this long term illness and yet managed the incredible results, despite only being able to spend spend limited time in school.
Well done Libby and thank you for your continuing efforts to support and fundraise for Long Covid Kids!

Kaye O'Docherty reports that around the world, millions of people have long Covid (defined as recurring or new signs and symptoms three months after a patient falls ill with COVID-19). In the UK alone, two million people self-report long Covid symptoms. The NHS continually faces criticism for its delayed approach to helping people with long Covid symptoms, more than four years since the pandemic began.
Long Covid affects people of all ages, both adults and children. In 2021, the charity Long Covid Kids (LCK) was set up to advocate for young people living with long Covid.
We thank Victoria Priest, Merel Van Der Knoop and Dr Binita Kane for sharing their experiences here.
As Merel reports, "We desperately need clinical trials and paediatric research… We’re more than four years in and there is nothing for long Covid. No new treatment centres. Some of the paediatric long Covid hubs are actually closing down.” Merel also has long Covid, and describes it as feel like you have been "knocked down multiple times - every time you try to get up you get knocked down again".