Health officials plan major research on COVID-19 long-haulers

Roll Call
By Mary Ellen McIntire
Posted April 30, 2021 at 6:00am
 
The National Institutes of Health is preparing to award grants in the next three weeks to researchers studying the long-term effects of COVID-19 and patients experiencing “long COVID.”
 
NIH Director Francis Collins told the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee this week that the agency expects laboratory research and imaging studies to be underway by the summer. The agency received 273 research proposals after Congress provided more than $1 billion for research into the long-term effects of COVID-19. 
 
Many people who have been sick with COVID-19, including some who had mild or no symptoms, reported dealing with additional symptoms long after their acute illness ended. The long-haul COVID-19 symptoms can range from fatigue or headaches to mental health issues or chronic pain. 
 
“Some of you have been suffering for more than a year with no answers, no treatment options, not even a forecast of what your future may hold,” Collins said during his opening statement Wednesday, referring to patients suffering from long COVID-19. “Some of you have even faced skepticism about whether your symptoms are real. I want to assure you that we at NIH hear you and believe you.”

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