Long COVID and children’s rights

This policy note calls for the recognition of long COVID as a children’s rights issue in the UK. While children have been affected by school closures and lockdown restrictions throughout the pandemic, the relatively low rates of COVID-related hospitalizations and deaths among children have led to their de-prioritization in efforts to reduce the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Yet infection rates are extremely high among children in the UK, particularly secondary school students, and early studies suggest that many are not recovering for up to a year after infection. Prolonged illness following infection, ‘long COVID’, has implications for children’s rights to education, health, and a private and family life, among others. By extension, children have a right to have their best interests taken into consideration in policy-making processes relating to long COVID. The policy note thus argues that we must recognize the significance of long COVID in children and, upon this basis, call upon the State to address its human rights implications.