Long Covid

Neale Hanvey Excerpts

Thursday 14th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Neale Hanvey (Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath) (SNP) [V]]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I commend the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (Layla Moran) for securing this important debate. Long covid is a prevalent and growing concern that is every bit as important as community transmission rates, excess mortality rates and the consequential impacts on other life-saving services, such as cancer services. It is evident in my Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath constituency. Bailey-Lee Robb, an 18-year-old student from Lochgelly, tested positive in October. He was isolated originally in his university accommodation, but he has now returned home to recuperate. He told me:

“Due to Long Covid I’m on painkillers as I have bad lower back and knee pain; I still have a loss of smell; shortness of breath; short-term memory loss; insomnia; and some of my body randomly breaks out in rashes. While I try to lead a normal life, some days I can’t leave bed because I’m that sore and exhausted. It’s horrible!”

He felt that the impact on young people is important. Even if fewer young people are dying from covid-19, long covid could be with them for a lifetime. There is a pressing need for Governments to raise public awareness of long covid, to urge lockdown compliance and to limit community transmission.

Research suggests that 10% of the infected population will suffer from long covid and, in line with other post-viral syndromes such as ME, it may become a chronic, potentially lifelong condition. The president of the British Society for Immunology has said:

“As the pandemic has gone on, it has become clear that…Covid-19 is more far reaching than affecting just the respiratory system”.

They went on to note that this may be a consequence of a generalised systemic inflammatory response, mediated by the body’s “cytokine storm” against covid. Shortness of breath can lead to pulmonary fibrosis, and circulatory, cardiovascular, renal, neurological and mental health impacts, and very real survivorship challenges, including depression and suicidal thoughts.

The British Heart Foundation, the British Lung Foundation and others also recognise the role that inflammation plays in the disease’s progression. Anyone working in an intensive therapy unit knew long before covid that such a systemic inflammatory response can lead to multi-organ failure and death.

Long covid is real, and it also affects young people such as Bailey-Lee. There is limited empirical evidence on how to diagnose, support, treat and rehabilitate sufferers. In Scotland, we advocate an holistic approach, and we are currently considering the organisation of services. More than 70,000 Scots will be provided with free vitamin D, which is recognised as having a role in prevention and moderation of morbidity. This week, Food Standards Scotland launched a vitamin D campaign for the general public. The Scottish Chief Scientist Office recently concluded research calls into the long-term effects of covid-19, with funding totalling £2.5 million being recommended for nine projects across Scottish universities. In addition to that funding, the Scottish Government are supporting an ongoing study on the longer-term lung health of covid-19-related acute respiratory distress syndrome survivors, and they are also supporting Scottish participation in the UK-wide post-hospitalisation covid-19 study.

Of course, it is also key to listen to those living through the condition, such as Long Covid Scotland and the Post Covid Syndrome Support Group. That is vital to improve understanding of the longer-term effects and develop effective clinical interventions to support recovery and rehabilitation. Post Covid Syndrome Support Group founder Louise Barnes has called for a shift to effective treatment after she made contact with a clinical team in South Africa regarding a peer-reviewed study looking at the use of a six-vitamin stack protocol. Despite being sceptical, Louise felt that she had nothing to lose so participated in the trial. Within three days, she saw notable improvement:

“I felt within days almost back to normal”.

That study is promising, as we know from leukaemia treatment the valuable role that vitamins or micronutrients can play. Of course, a six-vitamin stack will not suit big pharma unless they develop an analogue of the vitamin stack that they can patent. I have not looked into the detail of the study, but it is very positive and deserves serious consideration.

What is the UK Government’s strategy? It is clear that we must take action now. We must properly record, research and develop means to defeat the mechanisms of long covid. Otherwise, we are creating further resource and financial burdens for the NHS well into the future. Will the UK Government develop appropriate additional support and funding for the NHS to meet these challenges, however they are to be delivered? Will the Government now accept the pressing need for continuation of the £20 universal credit uplift and its extension to legacy benefits, in the light of long covid?

We also need action on sick pay rates. The UK has one of the lowest sick pay rates in the OECD. The SNP has continuously called on the UK Government to increase SSP in line with the real living wage. It is a disgrace. The UK Government’s meagre £95.85 rate of SSP is poverty pay in comparison with Ireland, where the rate is £266, and other countries such as Germany and Austria, where it is more than £280. Long-term, meaningful economic support must be put in place for long covid sufferers. Will the UK Government immediately increase SSP, so that long covid sufferers have financial support? Most importantly, will the UK Government match the Scottish Government’s ambition and fund research into post-covid syndrome, allowing sufferers hope that their new normal is not post-covid syndrome or long covid?