MPs have voted to allocate €27 million to set up special clinics where people with Long Covid can go for treatment and advice.

Some 100,000 people in the Netherlands are suffering from serious Long Covid complaints following an infection with the virus. The effects include extreme tiredness, confusion and loss of concentration.

Former health minister Ernst Kuipers had refused to allocate cash to fund specialist centres, saying it was up to hospitals and insurance companies to do so. But hospitals, in turn, said they could not take action without extra funding. 

MPs, however, voted on Thursday evening in favour of an amendment to the health ministry budget which clears the way for the extra money. The amendment was drawn up the GroenLinks-PvdA alliance.

Dutch researchers said in January they had discovered the persistent fatigue in patients with Long Covid has a biological cause –  their muscle cells produce less energy than those in healthy patients.