It’s the opposite, actually. I have family members with obvious long COVID symptoms they don’t acknowledge because they’re committed to a political ideology which asserts that COVID is “over”. Most people with long COVID will have to visit half a dozen doctors before they are properly diagnosed. And long COVID treatment is literally non-existent. There are no approved treatments or therapies at this point. None. So, rather than get “better” treatment, they won’t get any. There are long COVID clinics at various universities. They have waiting lists that are several months long, and their treatments involve things like coaching on CFS pacing strategies (e.g. listen to your body, don’t exert yourself).
Apologies- I didn’t mean to suggest they got better medical treatment. You’re correct that the state of the art is terrible. But doctors, employers, and family members will be nicer to people labeled with long covid than they will be to people with a different label of the same constellation of symptoms.
TBC I’m not disputing your description of “takes 6 doctors to get diagnosed, and that last doctor still can’t help”. If anything I think it glosses over how awful the first 5 doctors are on average. But 6 doctors, followed by a socially legitimized diagnosis, is still better than the average fatigue-inflammation-brainfog-metabolic-neuro-??? cluster because that cluster is treated miserably.
Social legitimacy varies by social group, of course. Some people are assholes about long covid and that’s devastating for their friends, family, and employees who suffer from it. But I have trouble imagining any of them would be nicer about a CFS or chronic Lyme diagnosis, while I think there are a decent chunk of people who mock those diagnoses while taking long covid seriously.
It’s the opposite, actually. I have family members with obvious long COVID symptoms they don’t acknowledge because they’re committed to a political ideology which asserts that COVID is “over”. Most people with long COVID will have to visit half a dozen doctors before they are properly diagnosed. And long COVID treatment is literally non-existent. There are no approved treatments or therapies at this point. None. So, rather than get “better” treatment, they won’t get any. There are long COVID clinics at various universities. They have waiting lists that are several months long, and their treatments involve things like coaching on CFS pacing strategies (e.g. listen to your body, don’t exert yourself).
Apologies- I didn’t mean to suggest they got better medical treatment. You’re correct that the state of the art is terrible. But doctors, employers, and family members will be nicer to people labeled with long covid than they will be to people with a different label of the same constellation of symptoms.
TBC I’m not disputing your description of “takes 6 doctors to get diagnosed, and that last doctor still can’t help”. If anything I think it glosses over how awful the first 5 doctors are on average. But 6 doctors, followed by a socially legitimized diagnosis, is still better than the average fatigue-inflammation-brainfog-metabolic-neuro-??? cluster because that cluster is treated miserably.
Social legitimacy varies by social group, of course. Some people are assholes about long covid and that’s devastating for their friends, family, and employees who suffer from it. But I have trouble imagining any of them would be nicer about a CFS or chronic Lyme diagnosis, while I think there are a decent chunk of people who mock those diagnoses while taking long covid seriously.