Congratulations to all #pwME4ICC!  Your petition has surpassed the 5,000 signatures mark and stands currently at 5,124 signatures.  This is a significant achievement and recent news make it even more urgent to continue to push HHS to recognize myalgic encephalomyelitis as per ME criteria- ICC.

Last month, it came to our attention that a government CDC/NCHS meeting took place with a proposal for adverse changes to the ICD-10-CM (US) coding of "CFS", ME and the addition of a SEID classification. You can read about the details of that meeting here -  https://wordpress.com/page/relatingtome.net/6687 and here - https://www.meadvocacy.org/deferral_needed_for_proper_icd_proposal_evaluation  There is an attempt to classify SEID under the same heading as ME which, if approved, will in effect result in erasing ME.  The organization MEadvocacy is currently drafting comments to CDC/NCHS to prevent this from happening.

Additionally, MEAction has announced that they are partnering with "Time for Unrest" to run a medical continuing education credit course for medical professionals - teaching them how to diagnose the disease using the IOM/SEID criteria! This course will make its turn in ten US locations and then they are looking to expand to the UK and Canada.  In effect, doctors nationwide will only be educated on how to use the IOM/SEID definition for clinical purposes - leaving the ICC and IC primer in the dark.  We cannot let this happen!

Both these current events are aiding HHS' effort to replace ME with SEID and eventually to do away with ME altogether.

Please renew your efforts to garner as many signatures as possible for this important petition which will be delivered to HHS urging them to adopt and use ME-ICC as the severe neurological distinct disease it is.