The world has entered the fourth year of the SARS-COV-2 panic. In Saskatchewan (as of this writing), no local media has acknowledged the anniversary of the pandemic. The small number of media outlets that are even paying attention to COVID’s anniversary continue to downplay COVID’s long-term seriousness, and large outlets, like the Wall Street Journal, are outright pathologizing people who continue to protect themselves, their communities, and their loved ones by masking. Politicians of all stripes want to sell us the good news of their terms, and by design, this excludes talking about Long COVID or glossing over it.
To push back against the national forgetting of the pandemic, when so many people have lost their lives or health to the airborne virus, the notion of Long COVID Awareness Day and #LongCOVIDAwarenessMonth started to be developed and gather steam online.
This post will highlight actions and resources people are providing about Long COVID and events to highlight the day and the month.
We by no means have the most comprehensive resource, but our own Long COVID resources page is where we try to keep an up-to-date list of resources on Long COVID: avoiding it, surviving it, taking action, and so forth.
We will keep this post updated through today as we hear about more events to mark the day and the month, raise awareness, and highlight online and IRL actions, so please come back to visit.
Places to gather and talk online
First, International Long Covid Awareness Day (@LCawarenessInt) is hosting a number of Twitter Spaces online today for people to talk survival and activism around Long COVID.
- Real talk about the issues that matter in the LongCovid community
- All those suffering #LongCovid & our allies are encouraged to be a part of this day & discussion
Links to the spaces are in the Tweet below:
Graphics to share
Some excellent graphics from designers on Twitter to put into your socials. Check the tweets linked below for sample captions.
From Greg Saysso:
Original tweets to retweet
https://twitter.com/gregsaysso/status/1635958587062202369
https://twitter.com/gregsaysso/status/1635338687163801601
https://twitter.com/gregsaysso/status/1635958587062202369
From KL:
Original tweets to retweet:
https://twitter.com/k8lettuce/status/1636013960926498816/photo/1
https://twitter.com/k8lettuce/status/1636016154992082949/photo/1
Petition actions to take today
Here are a list of petition and letter actions to take.
US-based petitions
If you are in Canada or another country
you can modify most of these templates to speak briefly to the reality that in terms of COVID infection protection, the US sets the pace between our two countries, and Canada often undoes pandemic protection, disability support and Long COVID awareness to the level of the US.
Tell HHS & White House: You Set the Tone for Long COVID by Marked by COVID
Sign the letter demanding real action on the long-term effects of Covid-19.
To Heal, We Must Remember
Take action now by sending a letter to your elected officials in support of an official Covid Memorial Day and Covid memorials at city, state, and federal levels.
Help end the Long COVID Crisis by Long COVID Action Project (LCAP)
This petition itself is a wealth of resources on Long COVID with many links. It also has a UK version.
Tell the White House COVID Response Coordinator to tell the truth about Long COVID!
by Strategies for High Impact
NIH must stop Long COVID trials on debunked, damaging therapies and fund strategic therapeutic research., by Strategies for High Impact
This petition is about stopping “exercise therapy” and other therapies in studies which actually injure Long COVID sufferers.
Subscribe
Organizations with newsletters to sign up to.
Join the Network for Long COVID Justice
Pledges for organizations
Commit to Long COVID Justice by the National Network for Long COVID Justice