Washington, DC, September 19—Protests for better healthcare under capitalism continued at the White House as a Progressive Labor Party (PLP) member joined 50 people suffering from Long Covid-19. We demanded that the Biden administration expand research into conditions that follow viral infections such as Covid-19, mono, bird flu, and other infections.

Contrary to liberal president Joe Biden’s false claim, the “pandemic is NOT over.” The marchers called for a federal program like the Ryan White Act for HIV that could provide wrap-around services for students and workers suffering from Long Covid-19 and similar long-term illnesses. The  pandemic is far from over! And racist healthcare for all workers will never be over until capitalism is. We need the working class to rule the world.

Capitalism is always willing to discard disabled workers who they can’t exploit for profit. As Friedrich Engels wrote in 1845, "the class which at present holds social and political control [the bourgeoisie] places hundreds of proletarians in such a position that they inevitably meet a too early and an unnatural death." The ruling class is fine with the social murder of our class. But we can’t let them get away with murder.

Covid under capitalism remains deadly
Later that day, a PL’er joined others in a listening session with the Office of Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education to explain how schools should better provide equal education to students with disabilities. The PLP member has been meeting with friends and fighters with disabilities to make demands around education sparked by the Covid-19 pandemic. These include virtual learning, high quality filtration/ventilation including HEPA filters, masks, and accommodations for students with symptoms. This is what communists would do if we had to manage Covid-19. By removing the profit motive, our class would be able to run society based on needs and commitment.

Covid related illnesses often cause damage to multiple organ systems including the brain, heart, blood vessels, and GI tract. Symptoms include fatigue, headache, cognitive impairment and rashes. Doctors have trouble making a diagnosis and patients thus go undiagnosed. The multiple specialists they then see can make treatment elusive. The waxing and waning of Covid symptoms adds to the confusion. Even exercise can make symptoms worse.

Research from from the World Health Network's Long COVID Symposium (9/15) has found clotting processes and damage to the lining of blood vessels, the persistence of viral particles and metabolic changes including dysautonomia (e.g.. fast heart rate when standing). But more work is needed in this area. The bosses don’t care about supporting these workers and students, thus condemning many to a life of disability and early death.

As we fight for and build a communist society that values all workers and supports their efforts to learn and contribute, we can support people with disabilities and bring them and their particular struggles into the PLP.