31/01/2025 Session
The Parliamentary Assembly deplores that the millions of patients with “long Covid” – a chronic disease that can be massively disabling – have become “a huge blind spot”, as policymakers and the healthcare sector focus on other health issues. It regrets that no solution has yet been identified to ensure patients’ recovery, as research is still in its infancy.
Faced with this worrying situation, PACE has proposed a series of measures, advocating “a human rights-based approach in the fight against ‘long Covid’”. Approving a resolution based on a report by Carmen Leyte (Spain, EPP/CD), it called on member states to “adopt public policies co-ordinated at national level” to meet patients’ medical, social and professional needs and guarantee access to healthcare. To this end, member states should set up transdisciplinary centres of expertise.
States should also ensure sufficient funding for biomedical research, so that effective treatments are available to reduce long-term disability, according to the adopted text. In addition, PACE believes that a clear common definition of “long Covid” could improve clinical management and target policies more effectively.
According to the resolution, “long Covid” should fall within the scope of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities “in order to allow access to social security, disability benefits and compensatory aids”.
Finally, the parliamentarians proposed promoting flexible policies for patients in the workplace and in educational institutions, and running awareness-raising campaigns in partnership with civil society to reduce stigmatisation.