Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support people who are under the age of 18 and experiencing symptoms of long-covid.

The ‘long’ COVID-19 assessment service centres developed by NHS England and NHS Improvement have been commissioned to provide assessment for adults, children, and young people, with input from paediatric specialists where appropriate. Any parent or guardian concerned that a child may be exhibiting symptoms of Long COVID should go to their GP, who will be able to refer the child for assessment if appropriate.

To help better understand and address the longer-term effects of COVID-19 on physical and mental health, on 18 February 2021 the Government announced £18.5 million of funding would be given to four research studies. This includes a study led by Professor Sir Terence Stephenson, at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, which is looking into long COVID-19 among children, how it can be diagnosed and how to treat it.