Long COVID and the Rise of Digital Patient Activism

Abstract

HIV patient activism has had a profound influence on the embodied health movements that followed it. Complex chronic conditions - for which there is no verifiable test or clear treatment program - have been called "illnesses you have to fight to get,"in part because patients struggle to convince doctors to take their pain seriously enough to give a diagnosis. This essay puts Long COVID into context with other embodied health movements, highlighting how Long COVID activism built upon previous social movements, and how digital networking and viral social media messaging set it apart.