No support for rejecting long covid-IV patients

Sarah B. (Name changed) worked in a nursing home and contracted Covid-19 three times. After a collapse in 2022, he suffers from severe symptoms such as headaches, dizziness and constant fatigue, forcing him to spend most of his time in bed. Despite being diagnosed with post-Covid syndrome, he struggles with disability insurance (IV), which refuses to support him.

She is not alone in this. Even though sufferers are unable to work, in many cases IV support is denied by suspecting other causes of symptoms or not recognizing a related illness to insurance. It informs “BZ Basel”.

A preliminary estimate by the federal Social Insurance Office shows that more than 60 percent of long-term Covid patients receive rejections. Almost 40 percent of those supported will do so primarily through professional integration activities. 3.6 percent actually receive pension.

In the journal “Medical Specialist” Three neurologists wrote in an article that, among other things, persistent complaints after physical illnesses – regardless of their cause – are always determined by expectations and other psychological factors. As long as no organic damage is proven, such subjective information about symptoms cannot justify a scientifically based diagnosis.

Another neurologist disagreed. Maja Strasser cares for 160 long-term Covid patients in her practice. She interprets the situation differently. Chronic fatigue syndrome is an important component of long-term covid, and previously this clinical picture was as common as, for example, multiple sclerosis. For this reason, Strasser says, most doctors aren’t familiar with it.

It takes an average of seven years to make a correct diagnosis, and many are preceded by misdiagnoses. That’s why Strasser is so critical: “Most patients with long covid and chronic fatigue syndrome experience social stigma and are seen as invalids or mentally ill.”

Sarah B. is among the first long-term Covid patients to file a lawsuit against the drastic IV procedure. She could not understand why critics were portraying Long Covid as a fictional disease. “Such statements make me sad. I haven’t sat at home for two years because I don’t want to go out, I can’t.”