Thousands of long covid sufferers have been denied financial support despite being unable to work.
Long covid is the term given to the lasting effects of Covid-19 with many still feeling a range of symptoms months after contracting the virus.
Chronic fatigue, aches and pains, and shortness of breathe are just some of the symptoms reported - even after they test negative.
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Around 300,000 people in the UK have long covid but many are struggling to access and apply for the government's disability scheme while they are unable to work due to debilitating and ongoing side effects.
As the The Mirror reports, data from January shows that only 937 people with the condition successfully claimed Personal Independence Payments (PIP), which entitles them to £150 a week.
Meanwhile, figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed that in March 322,000 people with long Covid had been limited "a lot" with some 172,000 of these admitting they had struggled every day for the past 12 months.
According to politicians and campaign groups, not enough has been done to remove barriers to applying for financial aid.
Dr Jo House, a spokesperson for Long Covid Support, said: "A vast number of severely impaired people are simply not getting the help they need and are entitled to."
Jenny Ceolta-Smith, of Long Covid Support's employment group, said there were "multiple barriers in place" when applying for the disability benefit.
"They might be able to perform a one off activity, but then not do so later in the day," she said.
Labour's Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow secretary for work and pensions, said the right to statutory sick pay for long Covid sufferers should be reinstated, adding that the number of people successfully claiming PIP was "just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to those who need financial support to live with the condition".
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said it was unable to provide a figure for how many people with long Covid had applied for PIP. The number has risen month on month since March 2021, when the benefits scheme first acknowledged the condition as a disability.
But since March 2021, just 1,584 people with long Covid have been assessed by the PIP programme. Out of these, 937 are currently receiving benefits, while the remaining 647 are awaiting final clearance from the government, have been rejected, or are appealing against the outcome of their application.
Layla Moran MP, chair of the all-party parliamentary group on coronavirus, said the low number of successful claimants over the past 12 months "suggests the government is failing to address the impact of long Covid both on people's health and the UK workforce".
She called on ministers to "review current financial support available to people who are, as a result [of long Covid], losing their jobs and income".
