UKHSA - Join our call for change
A COVID infection can pass. Its impact can last for years.
Long Covid can mean losing your health, your job and the everyday life you took for granted. People deserve clear advice about the risks and practical support to protect themselves and others.
Long Covid SOS is calling for an urgent review of public health advice. Help us make MPs listen.
Use the template below to write to your MP. You don’t need to have Long Covid to speak up.
Find your MP: theyworkforyou.com
Dear [MP’s name],
I am writing as your constituent to support Long Covid SOS’s call for an urgent review of public health advice on COVID-19 and respiratory infections.
This matters because people need clear information to protect their health and understand the consequences of infection. Long Covid can disrupt someone’s ability to work, study, care for their family and manage everyday life. Each new COVID-19 infection carries a risk of developing Long Covid.
UKHSA’s main “Living safely with respiratory infections” guidance was last updated in June 2022. Its blog published on 8 October 2026 repeats existing advice but does not discuss Long Covid.
Reassurance that current variants are not causing more severe acute illness does not explain the risk of lasting illness.
The guidance acknowledges airborne transmission and ventilation, but needs clearer, practical advice on reducing exposure through cleaner indoor air, appropriate filtration and effective, well-fitting masks. Advice linking staying at home to having a high temperature or feeling too unwell for normal activities can also leave people unclear about the risk of passing on infection when symptoms are mild.
These gaps matter. Without clear advice, people may unknowingly expose others at work, school or in healthcare settings. People at increased risk can face an unacceptable choice between exposure and withdrawing from everyday life. Preventable illness also affects employers, families and NHS capacity.
Preventing infection must be a shared public health responsibility. Individuals cannot improve a workplace’s ventilation or afford to stay home without adequate support simply by being told to make sensible choices. Long Covid SOS’s letter is available here:
Please write to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and UKHSA’s Chief Executive asking them to:
• Set out a timetable for reviewing and updating public advice, involving Long Covid organisations and people with lived experience.
• Explain clearly the risks of Long Covid and reinfection, alongside practical advice on testing, staying home when infectious, masks, ventilation and filtration.
• Explain how employers, education providers and public services will be supported to reduce transmission and protect people at increased risk.
Please let me know what action you will take and share any responses you receive. I would welcome a response addressing these specific requests.
Kind regards,
[Your name]
[Your full address and postcode]
[*Optional: add a short paragraph explaining why this matters to you or your family.]
The statements about Long Covid’s effects and the risk associated with each infection are supported by WHO guidance. who.int
