On 18 September 2025, the Council of States adopted a motion calling for a national strategy to improve medical care for people with ME/CFS, Long COVID, and long-term effects of COVID vaccination in Switzerland. The federal government, cantons, specialists, social insurance institutions, hospitals, and patient organisations are to work together on planning and implementing the strategy. The goals are:
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Timely diagnosis
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Appropriate treatment based on current scientific knowledge
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Equal access to effective therapies, medication, and social support for all affected people
The background is that around 60,000 people in Switzerland have ME/CFS and more than 300,000 are affected by Long COVID. The action plan is intended to include, among other things, knowledge transfer for professionals, improved cooperation among all stakeholders, centralised data collection, more research, coordination centres for patients, international networking, and secure funding.
While the adoption of the motion marks an important first step, the development and implementation of the strategy remain challenging: coordinating the various stakeholders, including the cantons and medical societies, will be essential to create a viable concept. Switzerland is the first European country in which ME/CFS and Long COVID gain visibility at this political level through a national strategy.
But an announcement from Germany also brings hope: Germany has stated that, starting in 2027, it will invest a total of 500 million euros over ten years in research on ME/CFS and Long COVID. The National Decade Against Post-Infectious Diseases is a long-awaited signal for many of the estimated 1.5 million affected people in the country. The new funding initiative aims to strengthen clinical studies, new treatment approaches, research data, genome analyses, AI-supported data processing, as well as networking and early-career support in health research.
People affected by Long COVID in Europe and around the world are likely to benefit from both national initiatives.
