Ruth was not called to speak in the debate on long covid. Had she been called this is what she would have said. Several speakers in this debate have outlined clearly what the Government needs to do to address this second epidemic the epidemic of long Covid which impacts people so differently. It’s clear that there’s a vast difference in the symptoms and the day-to-day reality of how itmy constituent Karen- who contracted the virus back in March was ‘very ill for a month’ and could ‘barely function with the journey to the kettle like climbing Everest. She’s been functioning a little better since November, and says “the brain fog continues to be a real problem, my eyesight is terrible, my ears still have occasional weird moments Karen is a musician and a sound engineer but long covid has impacted her ability to rehearse and to work. Another one of my constituents is also extremely worried about the impact it would have on their ability to work as a single parent – we need proper financial support for all those sufferers who cannot work to their full potential Other speakers in this debate have outlined the need for further research is done, along with the need for appropriate treatment to be developed and no longer subject to a postcode lottery. Long Covid is a post viral syndrome with diverse physical and psychological symptoms. But it’s not the first such syndrome The quick response by the medical establishment to Long Covid contrasts sharply with the very slow institutional response to some other post-viral symptoms. Unlike Long Covid, ME/CFS took years before GPs took patients seriously, NICE guidelines produced and sufferers able to get both the medical and other support they need. But even now, parents of children with the distressing syndromes called PANS/PANDAS are struggling to be taken seriously. These children exhibit most horrendous Neuropsychiatric symptoms arising from infections, which usually appear virtually overnight following an infection, yet they are yet to be accepted across the NHS and are actually being discharged from services routinely particularly since the Covid pandemic. We are still to establish clear, organised and well-articulated guidance to ensure early diagnosis and treatment of PANS/PANDAS that is anything like the response that has been developed to Long Covid in only a few short months