Long Covid Advocacy urges Zack Polanski to lead on Long Covid during COP30

Long Covid Advocacy has released an open letter to Green Party Leader Zack Polanski, congratulating his leadership and calling for bold, systemic reform in how the UK approaches post-viral illness, including Long Covid and ME.

The group, which campaigns for justice, research, and patient-led reform, draws strong parallels between the denial surrounding the climate emergency and the neglect of infection-associated chronic illness. Both, they write, demand courage, honesty, and reform “from the ground up.”

The release also notes that climate breakdown increases the risk of new pandemics, as ecological disruption and warming drive the spread of infectious disease. “The same political courage needed to face the climate crisis is needed to build resilient, evidence-based public health systems,” LCA said. “Ignoring either comes at enormous social and human cost.”

“Across the UK, people with infection-associated chronic illness, including Long Covid and ME, still face deep inequality in treatment and care,” the letter states. “Services are fragmented, disbelief remains widespread, and too often patients are left to navigate complex conditions without meaningful and effective medical support.”

The letter praises the Greens’ pioneering policy on Covid and Long Covid, developed through the Greens Against Covid group, and urges the party to take this further - championing:

• Co-produced, trauma-informed NHS care for severe ME and Long Covid.

• Quality, evidence-based medical education and clinical practice.

• Biomedical research and RECOVERY-style trials developed in partnership with patients.

• Centres of excellence integrating care, research, and community knowledge.

• Public health leadership connecting clean air, infection control, vaccination, and equitable access to care.

As COP30 unfolds, LCA says this moment demands political courage - to speak where others remain silent and act on truths that are “politically inconvenient but morally urgent.”

“Together, we want to restore hope — for those still unwell, for those left behind, and for a health system that listens, learns, and acts with integrity.”