On February 4, the House of Representatives approved a series of motions regarding care and research into post-COVID and other post-acute infection syndromes (PAIS). In these motions, the House advocates for a multi-year approach to PAIS, the retention of post-COVID expertise centers, and better support for patients in terms of care, work, and income. The votes followed the debate on post-COVID from January 29, 2026
With the adoption of these motions, the focus shifts from temporary COVID policies to a structural approach to PAIS. For patients and their loved ones, the most significant outcome is that a majority of the House supports the continuation of the expertise centers. These centers bring together specialized knowledge on diagnostics and treatment and form an important basis for research. The House also wants the knowledge and treatments from these centers to be reimbursed within regular healthcare. Furthermore, they call for greater insight into how investments in PAIS policy are made and how patients gain access to care and support. The motions also specifically request attention for children and young people with PAIS, and for improved information provision for this group.
A second important outcome is the House’s call for a better social safety net and attention to the impact on employment and employability. This includes better equipping doctors and medical assessors to evaluate PAIS in situations related to work and benefits. For many patients, this is currently a bottleneck.
Moreover, the House wants the Netherlands to collaborate with Germany on the approach to post-COVID and PAIS. In Germany, substantial investments will be made in the coming years to address PAIS. Collaboration could contribute to quicker results and the development of treatments.
At the same time, not all proposals garnered majority support. The motions for additional medical guidelines and increased attention for the most severely affected post-COVID and other PAIS patients were rejected. We disagree with this. There is also ongoing discussion regarding the extent to which politics should have a say in the content of medical policy.
Conclusion: clear political support and a hopeful start to 2026. With these motions, the House advocates for a structural approach to PAIS and further improvements in care and support for patients.