Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to formally recognise people experiencing long-term effects of COVID-19, and (2) to expand research into the condition.
The National Health Service and the wider scientific community are currently working to better understand the disease course of COVID-19 infection, including the prevalence, severity and duration of symptoms, and how best to support recovery. The Department invests £1 billion per year in health research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Together with UK Research and Innovation, the NIHR has invested £8.4 million in the Post-HOSPitalisation COVID-19 study (PHOSP-COVID), led by the University of Leicester. The Government is currently considering options for future work in this area.
The research currently underway will continue to help define the long-term effects of COVID-19, which will support the formal recognition of people who are experiencing the long-term effects.