Markey, Whitehouse Push NIH on Slow Pace of Research into Long COVID

Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey

Washington, DC – Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Ed Markey (D-MA) are pressing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) about the slow pace of research into “Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection” or “long COVID.” In a letter, the senators asked the NIH about the status of research into the long-term health effects of COVID-19, as requested by Congress over two years ago.

“Given that COVID-19 is a novel virus, research on long COVID is still in its infancy. There are currently no evidence-based treatments for long COVID,” wrote the senators to the NIH. “In the absence of effective therapies, we are concerned by reports of individuals pedaling unapproved treatment regimens to vulnerable patients.”

Congress asked the NIH to research the condition in December 2020 and allocated $1.15 billion to carry it out. So far, however, the agency has been slow to launch observational studies and evaluate possible treatments and therapeutics. Whitehouse and Markey wrote that the absence of clear information on long COVID and potential treatments leaves patients vulnerable to unapproved and possibly dangerous alternative treatment regimens.

A PDF copy of the letters are available here.