<
https://truthout.org/articles/i-am-one-of-20-million-in-us-with-long-covid-rfk-pulled-the-rug-from-under-us/>
"For more than three years, I’ve lived with long COVID.
The dizziness never leaves. I can’t drive more than half an hour without
starting to get nauseous. Any strenuous activity — mental or physical — leaves
me with post-exertional malaise that feels like a hangover the next day. I’ve
learned to adapt and find gratitude for many things, but life remains an
exhausting calculus of rationing energy across work, chores, and my kids.
I am only one of over an estimated 20 million Americans with long COVID.
Symptoms for “long haulers” range from brain fog and fatigue to joint pain,
heart palpitations, dizziness, loss of taste or smell, and many others. Many
live with chronic disability, forced out of jobs and daily routines.
That’s why when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK) was nominated as Secretary of
Health and Human Services and promised to “enthusiastically” support long COVID
research, some long haulers held out hope that he would be an ally — even as
others feared his record of disinformation told a different story. I never
believed that he would deliver on his promise to “Make America Healthy Again,”
knowing his long record of spreading medical misinformation and his alliance
with forces hostile to public health.
Instead of being an ally, Kennedy shut down the Office of Long COVID Research
and Practice, gutted the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and
Health Promotion, and derailed National Institutes of Health (NIH) trials and
studies. After public pressure, he restored some RECOVER grants, but the
broader system remains in ruins. Meanwhile, Kennedy staged a hollow
“roundtable” promising a “sustained effort,” while offering no new funding, no
roadmap, and little patient involvement.
The severity of this crisis isn’t just about those who already have long COVID.
Every infection carries the risk of long-term disability, so anyone could join
our ranks tomorrow. Even if you never develop long COVID, you will feel its
impact when hospitals lose nurses, classrooms lose teachers, families lose
caregivers, and bus routes lose drivers. Long COVID weakens the infrastructure
we all depend on. When leaders gut research or restrict vaccines, they’re not
only abandoning long haulers — they’re putting the entire society at risk.
Kennedy’s assault on long COVID care mirrors the Trump administration’s wider
attack on disability rights — from gutting workplace protections to imposing
new Medicaid work requirements that punish the chronically ill."
Via Violet Blue’s
Threat Model - Covid: October 23, 2025
https://www.patreon.com/posts/covid-october-23-141840402
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
