Millions of Americans survived COVID-19. For many of us, survival was only the beginning.

The pandemic may have faded from the headlines, but for millions of Americans, it never ended.

Every day, people wake up trapped inside bodies they no longer recognize. Mothers who can no longer care for their children the way they once did. Veterans who served their country but now struggle to walk across a room. Healthcare workers who became patients. Business owners forced to close their doors. Families watching their savings disappear while searching for answers that still haven’t come.

These are not isolated stories.

One woman spent 33 days in a coma, survived complete kidney failure, blood clots, a heart attack, and learned to walk again—only to lose her career and be denied disability multiple times.

Another lost her independence, underwent multiple major surgeries after COVID, developed an autoimmune disease, and now lives every day with crushing fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, chronic pain, and post-exertional crashes that leave her bedridden.

Another simply wrote, “I want to live long enough for someone to tell me what stole my life from me.”

These are not statistics.

These are Americans.

Long COVID has become one of the largest chronic health crises in modern history. Millions continue to live with disabling fatigue, neurological impairment, heart and lung complications, autonomic dysfunction, immune dysregulation, chronic pain, and dozens of other persistent symptoms that have stolen careers, financial security, independence, and years from people’s lives.

Too many patients have exhausted their savings. Too many families have become full-time caregivers. Too many people are fighting insurance companies while fighting for their health. Too many are told their illness is anxiety, stress, or simply something they must learn to live with.

This is unacceptable.

No American should lose everything because they became sick during a global pandemic.

Congress has the responsibility to recognize Long COVID as the national crisis it is and respond with the urgency it deserves.

We call on Congress to:

• Significantly increase federal funding for Long COVID research and treatment development.
• Expand access to specialized Long COVID clinics throughout the United States.
• Improve physician education so patients receive timely, evidence-based diagnosis and care.
• Strengthen disability and workplace protections for those whose ability to work has been permanently affected.
• Establish a federally funded healthcare program that covers medically necessary Long COVID care so no American is denied treatment because of cost.
• Support caregivers and families carrying the financial and emotional burden of Long COVID.
• Require regular public reporting on Long COVID research, treatment development, and patient outcomes.

Through Long COVID: Chasing Answers, Finding Hope, we are collecting the stories behind this crisis—not because statistics alone can change history, but because people can.

Every signature is another voice. Every story is another family. Every name represents a life forever changed.

We refuse to let millions of Americans continue to suffer in silence.

Sign this petition. Stand with those living with Long COVID. Demand that Congress act now.