On 19th July, we held a public to discuss joint asks to political parties, which are now writing their manifestos for the 2026 Scottish elections. Below is a the text of the letter we have sent to Scottish Labour, Scottish Greens, Scottish Liberal Democrats and Scottish Conservatives and Unionists.

We are writing to share with you the key commitments which we hope your party will be able to include in its manifesto for the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections. The list of key commitments that we believe are necessary for protecting the population in Scotland from further harm from Covid-19 was drawn up by participants of a recent public meeting we hosted.

Covid Action Scotland is deeply concerned about the serious impacts which unmitigated Covid-19 infections continue to have on the the health of people in Scotland, on NHS Scotland’s ability to treat patients being compromised by recurrent waves of infection, and on the well-being of people who seek to avoid (re-)infections to protect their and their loved ones’ health.

Before sharing the list of asks, we would first like to make you aware of some of the many serious impacts of recurrent Covid-19 infections:

• According to the 2024 GP Survey, at least 4.6% of the population of England and Scotland had Long Covid symptoms. 4.6% of the Scottish population is around 248,000 people.  By comparison, the ONS Long Covid Survey of March 2023 found a Long Covid prevalence of 3%, already higher than similar previous surveys. Clearly, the number of people suffering from Long Covid is continuing to rise. Many of those affected are children and young people.
• Long Covid figures do not include an increase in the number of strokes and cardiovascular disease, autoimmune conditions and other illnesses which studies have shown become significantly more likely and common following Covid-19 infections. For example, research by the UK’s Stroke Association has shown that the risk of a stroke increases 20-fold after a Covid-19 infection and remains elevated for around one year. It is now common for people to get one or several such infections this year. 
• According to a recent study published in the science magazine Nature, 36% of two-year olds who had been exposed to Covid-19 in the womb exhibit cognitive delays and 64% communication delays. Yet, Covid vaccination is no longer available on the NHS in Scotland during pregnancy. 

There are serious wider social and economic impacts, too. For example, according to the authors of the 2024 Cambridge Econometrics Report: “Future macroeconomic costs of some £1.5bn of GDP each year, with the impacts increasing if Long Covid prevalence goes up.”  Based on most recent Long Covid figures from the 2024 GP Survey, the assumptions and calculations in the report would translate to an annual GDP loss of £2.45 billion, lost household income of £2.12 billion, additional healthcare expenditure of £6.85 billion, and 225,000 less people able to work. The impacts on Scotland would be proportional to the share of population.

NHS Scotland is being impacted by the additional care and treatment required for in-patients with acute Covid, by the growing burden of chronic illness caused by Covid, and by the increase in staff sickness. The rate of staff sickness in NHS Scotland was the highest on record during the year ending 31st March 2025.

Our asks for manifesto commitments needed to protect Scotland’s population from further harm from Covid-19 and other airborne infections:

• Acknowledge that Covid-19 reinfections cause serious long-term effects on health and advise the population on the need and means to minimise infection risks
• Require and invest in clean indoor air: Cleaning up indoor air would greatly reduce the burden of infectious disease – not only Covid-19, but also other viral infections such as flu, norovirus and RSV. At a minimum, CO2 monitoring should be required in healthcare settings, in care homes and in schools, nurseries and other educational settings. If ventilation alone is not enough to keep CO2 within safe limits (i.e.< 800 ppm) then air filters should be required. Investments in air filters in schools or hospitals and would more than pay for themselves by reducing staff sickness and the need for supply/bank/agency staff.
• Commit to stopping hospital and other healthcare-acquired infections: We need a commitment to action that stops NHS patients from getting infected in hospitals and other healthcare settings (‘nosocomial infections’). Nobody should suffer harm because they seek healthcare.  Hospital in-patients are by definition vulnerable. Nosocomial infections cause deaths, long-term deterioration, for example of elderly patients who may already be frail or be suffering from dementia, and prolonged hospital stay. There are effective, well-proven ways of stopping such infections (including air filters and wearing of FFP2/FFP3 masks); however, this requires political will.
• Increase infection monitoring and support testing: We welcome the fact that the Scottish government continues to fund wastewater monitoring of Covid, but, while this must continue, it is not enough. We believe that free lateral flow tests should be available to all. Routine Covid testing of all hospital in-patients and of all residents in care homes should be reintroduced as top priorities.
• Commit to an independent Scottish approach to vaccines based on science: At present, Scotland is following advice from the statutory advisory committee on vaccines for England and Wales (but not for Scotland), JCVI. JCVI’s vaccine advice is based on a “a bespoke, non-standard method of cost-effectiveness analysis” that ignores Long Covid and other long-term damage caused by Covid, and that ignores the NICE methodology applied to assessing cost-effectiveness in almost all other decision-making in healthcare.  We believe that free COVID-19 vaccines should be available to anybody from 6 months onwards. At a very minimum, the World Health Organisation’s recommendations must be implemented.
• Commit to support and treatment for people with Long Covid: Even though the number of people suffering from Long Covid keeps growing, Long Covid clinics are being closed and funding has not so far been increased. There must be new, long-term and increased funding for Long Covid clinics and effective treatments for conditions associated with Long Covid must be made available to all who might benefit.

We would be very pleased to discuss those asks and the reasons behind them with you and hope that you will include the above points in your manifesto.