Yesterday President Joe Biden issued a presidential memorandum directing the secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to create a national action plan on long COVID.The move signals an effort to study and fund research for the 7 million to 23 million Americans who suffer from COVID-19 symptoms for months and years after initial infection.
Some estimates suggest as many as 1 in 3 people with COVID-19 will develop symptoms that last longer than 4 weeks, with some resulting in significant disability."As a complex condition that can affect multiple organ systems, Long COVID may require care and coordination across multiple medical specialties," the White House said. "The Administration recognizes that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in new members of the disability community and has had a tremendous impact on people with disabilities."The plan includes increasing funds to study the origins of long COVID, promoting clinician education, strengthening healthcare coverage for long COVID care, and expanding long COVID clinics.
Most prominently, Biden's new agenda builds on the $1 billion research study already under way at the National Institutes for Heath, called the RECOVER Initiative.The United States reported 29,521 new COVID-19 cases yesterday and 477 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 tracker.The 7-day average of new daily cases is 29,286, with 593 daily deaths, according to the Washington Post tracker.VRBPAC meets after FDA clears 4th doseToday the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, or VRBPAC, met to discuss the current science on fourth vaccine doses, after the FDA already authorized use of a fourth dose in Americans ages 50 and older