We have been very lucky in NZ that we haven’t to date had the COVID spread like other countries. To this end though, we are also locally unaware of the effects of COVID on people with ME/CFS and have to look overseas for related data. The article linked below is in reflection of a survey that ME Action UK and Scotland did with their clients (launched March 2021 – however, we seem to be a year behind the rest of the world, because we could naturally hold COVID off with geographic isolation and early lockdowns). We need to be aware, essentially they did this to report to the UK Government advocating that people with ME/CFS should be eligible for early vaccination as they are more vulnerable.
It doesn’t make for pleasant reading and I am sorry about that. But we need to read it in the context that now in NZ with have Omicron and not the Alpha or Delta variant and that may make a difference, we also have a large-scaled vaccination programme active within the New Zealand community, with 96% of eligible NZ citizens double vaccinated. We are already seeing research that says vaccination reduces the risk of long COVID, and we can only hope that it will do the same with prevent ME/CFS relapse if a person does get COVID, but prior to infection has ME/CFS.
Keeping all of this in mind the research done in the UK/Scotland has been very clear: These initial responses show clearly that Covid-19 had a significant impact on respondents, with more than three quarters (76%) of respondents saying that Covid-19 made their ME symptoms worse. This impact appears to be long-lasting, with over two-thirds of respondents reporting that the worsening in symptoms has lasted more than 6 months and has still not been resolved. ME ACTION PRELIMINARY RESULTS
We can only assume this is one of the driving forces behind Dr. Vallings recommending vaccinations for those with ME/CFS. Please be very clear – at CCIS we will respect your decisions on vaccination and whilst all our staff have chosen to be vaccinated (prior to being mandated) we will happily work with those vaccinated and unvaccinated. We are here for everyone. However, how we work with everyone, may for a time be different from what you are used to. We are looking forward to a time that all these measures are a thing of the past. But in the meantime we will do everything we can to protect our members from COVID and we will take the appropriate health measures.