Today, Tuesday 21 October, ex-PM Boris Johnson gave evidence before the coronavirus (Covid-19) inquiry for the final time. Today’s session focused on the devastating effect that the pandemic had on children and young people across the UK.
Johnson and his government’s mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic left tens of thousands of children disabled by Long Covid. As such, the Long Covid Advocacy (LCA) group has monitored the inquiry closely. They hoped to amplify the often-neglected voices of children suffering from the chronic effects of infection.
Today, however, LCA had to listen to Johnson state that the UK “probably did go too far” in trying to protect British children during the pandemic. So, what exactly does Johnson’s ‘too far’ look like when it comes to protecting kids?
‘Contempt for the truth’
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that as many as 72,000 children have reported Long Covid symptoms after a second Covid-19 infection. That’s equivalent to around 1 in every 165 young people living in the UK.
LCA has spoken out to highlight the knock-on effects of Johnson’s reckless leadership. These failures paved the road for delayed diagnoses, disrupted education, and devastating isolation for the kids who are now living with Long Covid.
Dr Rupert Higham of University College London’s Institute of Education stated that:
Johnson’s contempt for the truth is written in the bodies of our children. We’re not interested in apologies – children and young people deserve justice, recognition, and change. That means accountability for the past, and prevention for the future.
With Johnson at the helm, our uncaring government failed to prepare schools for the pandemic. Worse, they down-played the danger that they were placing children in. This left children and carers without protection, clear guidance, or access to much-needed medical support.
Claire Every, of Long Covid Advocacy, called out Johnson’s callous dismissal of Long Covid:
The government’s failure to prepare schools for COVID-19 wasn’t accidental – it was ideological. When Boris Johnson compared Long Covid to ‘Gulf War Syndrome,’ he exposed a belief system that dismissed biological illness as psychologically influenced. That same mindset drove policies that left children unprotected, unresearched, and unheard.
Dismissed and dismayed
The population of children affected by post-acute viral disability living in the UK is significant. However, medical understanding of the condition is limited, and it lacks effective treatment.
LCA holds that many children are being refused accommodations to help them in their education and medical investigations. Again, they traced the cause back to Johnson and a wider culture intent on on a psychosomatic framing of the condition. This same ‘all in your head’ dismissal has dogged other similar post-viral illnesses like ME/CFS.
One parent of a child with Long Covid stated that:
Instead of being offered support, understanding, or medical care for our child with Long Covid, we were referred to social services. The experience left our family traumatised and fearful of seeking help again – a reflection of the dismissive attitudes we’ve seen at the highest levels of government.
The danger of Covid is far from over, and repeat infections increase the chance of long-term consequences. Prevention has to include measures to protect children in schools, such as ventilation and air filtration to provide clean air.
Recently, Sadiq Khan’s investment in air filters in London schools has show that such protections are as achievable as they are urgent. As such, LCA is calling on the government to expand the scope of this and other similar initiatives nationwide.
Without them, we will only see more of the exact same catastrophes that Boris Johnson failed to prevent.
Featured image via the Canary
From Canary via this RSS feed