
The lack of comprehensive Long COVID case counts may be considered one of public health’s greatest failures. But as we enter the sixth year of this ongoing pandemic, U.S. institutions are sweeping this mass disabling event under the rug perhaps more than ever before. We can’t let them get away with it.

Looking back on half a decade, there have been numerous milestones in Long COVID research, advocacy, and greater societal awareness, many led by people with the disease. There has also been, and continues to be, a lot of loss.

It’s not mysterious. A highly contagious airborne virus has spread around the world for the past four years and continues to infect people as I write. SARS-Cov-2 has killed an excess of 23 million people worldwide and plagued over 65 million people with Long Covid and other associated conditions.

The story sounds familiar, but Long Covid is different: this time, the number of sick people is too big to ignore. People with Long Covid are making their voices heard everywhere from their doctors’ offices to the steps of the White House. Those of us who’ve been listening hear the calls to action — to…
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