Vulnerability in the shadows: On the role of institutionalised solidarity and visibility as preconditions of Long Covid solidarity

Abstract

As we settle into an endemic phase of Covid-19, we are faced with a new public health crisis—Long Covid, with estimates of over 400 million individuals affected globally, and research indicating that everyone is vulnerable. Despite this shared vulnerability, and in stark contrast to the widespread solidarity observed during the acute phases of the Covid-19 pandemic, solidarity seems to be all but absent when it comes to Long Covid. Focusing on the case of the Netherlands, this article sheds light on this discrepancy. Drawing on the work of Prainsack and Buyx (2017), we highlight two elements which help explain this discrepancy. First, the absence of sustained institutionalised solidarity, which could have enabled pandemic solidarity to persist and extend to individuals affected by Long Covid. Instead, Dutch pandemic policy shifted towards an increased emphasis on individual responsibility. Second, several factors rendered Long Covid invisible, such as the government’s unwillingness to monitor the disease, and the nature of the illness itself, which restricts patients’ advocacy. Yet, visibility is a precondition for the emergence of recognition of similarity which is needed for solidarity. We suggest that these elements help explain an absence of Long Covid solidarity beyond narratives of “pandemic fatigue”.