BBC Spotlight: Covid-19 and Post-Viral Fatigue Syndrome with Dr Charles Shepherd

July 2, 2020


BBC Spotlight (South-West) featured a report last week that talked about people who had contracted Covid-19, survived the infection but had failed to fully recover their previous level of health.

Jenny Walrond, BBC Health and Science Correspondent, speaks with one woman whose functional improvement hasn't materialised and says that thousands have joined social media sites to report a similar failure to recover.

BBC Spotlight Report on the Long-Term Effects of Covid-19 Infection (25 June 2020)

The ME Association is also hearing increasing reports about this ‘post-viral fatigue syndrome' that also can include some of the symptoms believed to be unique to Covid-19 survivors such as continued breathing difficulties.

The uncertainty surrounding recovery from this infection is something that we hope is being discussed within the NHS and Government, but pacing and self-management remain the only options for many people.

Dr Charles Shepherd, Hon. Medical Adviser, for the ME Association was interviewed for this broadcast and discusses the situation including whether there is a need for a ‘post-covid-fatigue-syndrome'.

He has been raising and discussing these real concerns with NICE, the Government and other medical professionals and considering what it might mean for the increasing prevalence of ME/CFS and the effect on health service provision.

The ME Association Covid-19 and ME/CFS Leaflets

The ME Association has published a range of FREE leaflets about Covid-19, including one that talks specifically about post-viral-fatigue syndrome and how this could lead to a marked increase in the diagnosis of ME/CFS.

You can download each one (or all of them) by clicking the images below, or you will find them in the ME Association Website Shop.

The General LeafletVulnerable Status LetterCovid-19 and PVFS
Reducing Risk InfectionChanges to BenefitsEmployment

The ME Association

Please support our vital work

We are a national charity working hard to make the UK a better place for people whose lives have been devastated by an often-misunderstood neurological disease.

If you would like to support our efforts and ensure we are able to inform, support, advocate and invest in biomedical research, then please donate today.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Donate-MEA-16.12.19.png

Just click the image opposite or visit our JustGiving page for one-off donations or to establish a regular payment. You can even establish your own fundraising event.

Or why not join the ME Association as a member and be part of our growing community? For a monthly (or annual) subscription you will also receive ME Essential – quite simply the best M.E. magazine!


ME Association Registered Charity Number 801279


Shopping Basket