Straight talking Alex Richter, Professor of Clinical Immunology at the University of Birmingham, has been running a research study looking into the role of autoantibodies in Long Covid. In her work she has identified patterns of autoantibodies in acute and Post Covid patients and believes that the virus may trigger immune responses against our own tissues or organs.

There was something quite refreshing about talking to a medical professional who, whilst working hard to find answers about the role of our immune system in the Post Covid sequelae, is pragmatic about treating symptoms rather than having to find the cause - “sometimes we just don’t know, but we do know how to treat it.”

Richter is brutally realistic about what care may look like for Long Covid patients given how little we know - the sheer numbers of chronically ill people are a ticking time bomb for a healthcare system already over capacity. And what was fascinating is Richter is not shy about saying that Long Covid and ME / CFS are likely the same thing, all falling under the same post-viral umbrella. Her words are well worth a listen, not just Long Covid sufferers, but also those suffering with other post-viral conditions.