Whether you are classed as severely disabled depends on the severity of the illness. The critical factor is not the diagnosis but the functional deficit that the illness has caused and how this deficit affects your ability to live a normal life. For you to be assessed as severely disabled, COVID-19 must have caused lasting damage or a lasting loss of function.

You are entitled to a severely disabled person's ID card if you have been found to have a degree of disability (GdB) of 50 or more. If, as well as your degree of disability, you also have other health issues entitling you to additional compensatory help, these will be indicated by specific letters on your severely disabled person’s ID card.

Further information about assessing disability is available from the social advocacy organizations VdK and SoVD.

The Labor Ministry’s website einfach-teilhaben.de provides extensive information about living with a disability and also includes the forms with which to apply for a severely disabled person’s ID card.

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