So you want to be a COVID Patient Ally?

Body Politic COVID-19 Support Group’s biweekly newsletter.

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Our story | Covid-19 Support Group | Community

December 6, 2020

Welcome to the Body Politic COVID-19 Support Group newsletter. Open to all, this newsletter seeks to provide healthy allies, medical professionals, and other interested parties with information on the support group. Because the group is currently only for those infected with COVID-19 — a decision our team made to foster a culture of trust within the online community— many of the amazing insights the group provides have not been shared with the outside world. In this newsletter, we will give you a look inside this robust support group, by summarizing big discussion themes, sharing links to articles our group found helpful, and including personal anecdotes from group members.

After the success of our #VoicesOfTheVirus campaign in elevating the voices and needs of Long Covid patients around the world, our support group has grown by almost 1,000 members. But while we’re glad to connect with more patients in need, we’re devastated at the thought that our group is growing as a result of a pandemic that continues to rage globally. As a second wave surges across the U.S. and the world, we anticipate that COVID-19 patients’ needs will only grow.

Long Covid patients should not have to shoulder the burden of advocacy and support alone. As our volunteer admin Lauren put it this summer: “A lot of people who don’t have the energy to educate the world are educating the world.” We are increasingly grateful to all those Covid Patient Allies who stand in solidarity with us — from healthcare workers to family members to caregivers to activists — but we need more folks to stand up.

Long Covid patients often feel alone; the experience of being sick can be accompanied by both physical and social isolation, but we can change this. Let’s show COVID patients what allyship and solidarity looks like.

On November 13th, we launched our new social media campaign centered around becoming a #CovidPatientAlly. Throughout these past two weeks, we’ve taken to Instagram to post tips on self-educating and spreading awareness on COVID patient issues, providing virtual caregiving, and leading with compassion and patience. As we’ve continued to share ways to get involved in this movement, we’ve also asked the patient community to tell us more about the support they’d like to see from allies.

If you’re someone who has not contracted COVID, or who has survived the virus, there are many ways you can show your solidarity with COVID patients:

Share a post telling us what #CovidPatientAlly means to you or post a photo of you in your #CovidPatientAlly t-shirt. Make sure to tag us @wearebodypolitic and #CovidPatientAlly!
Check out our advocacy messages on Instagram, which include educational captions on next steps for allies looking to take action!
Donate to our GoFundMe to support Body Politic’s continued efforts in advocating for health equity.
Forward this email to any friends or family members who can join us in creating a community of allies, and invite them to take action!

We may not be able to erase COVID, but with your support we can help patients overcome the emotional and physical obstacles they face every day. Thank you for helping us advocate for the needs of COVID patients around the world!

Kind regards,
The Body Politic Admin Team

Forward

New Patient Spotlight: Letícia Soares

"Having been on this ride for 7+ months, a choreographed fight of opposing emotions is constantly getting in the way of my ability to assess my own situation and envision my future. Hope, fear, anger, and courage attract and repel, transform and dissolve with complex fluidity, in a never-ending metamorphosis of emotions."

Click here to read Letícia's story

In case you missed it...
Body Politic is in the news!

Portrait photo of Chimére Smith, Body Politic member and COVID Long Hauler

Covid Survivors With Long-Term Symptoms Need Urgent Attention, Experts Say

"In a two-day meeting Thursday and Friday, the federal government’s first workshop dedicated to long-term Covid-19, public health officials, medical researchers and patients said the condition needed to be recognized as a syndrome, given a name and taken seriously by doctors." Body Politic member and COVID Long Hauler Chimére Smith (pictured above), as well as our Patient Led Research leader Hannah Davis both spoke at the workshop and are quoted.

America Dissected: Coronavirus
"The long haul"
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed interviews Body Politic co-founder and President Fiona Lowenstein in his latest podcast from Crooked Media.

You can find a complete list of our press mentions at wearebodypolitic.com/press