President Biden on Tuesday ordered his administration to step up efforts to fight long COVID, seeking to address lingering symptoms in millions of people even as the overall COVID-19 situation improves.
Biden issued a presidential memorandum directing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop “the first-ever interagency national research action plan on Long COVID.”
As part of the effort, the administration said it would accelerate enrollment into the National Institutes of Health’s study of long COVID. Stat News reported last week that there has been frustration among experts at the slow pace of enrollment in the NIH’s long COVID study.
Biden also directed a report to be issued within 120 days outlining the resources available across government agencies to support people with long COVID.
People with long COVID can experience a range of lingering symptoms months after contracting the virus, such as fatigue and difficulty concentrating.
Biden said in the memorandum that the country has made much progress in fighting the virus, but that long COVID shows its lingering effects in many people.
“We move towards a future in which COVID-19 does not disrupt our daily lives and is something we prevent, protect against, and treat,” Biden wrote.
“At the same time, many of our family members, neighbors, and friends continue to experience negative long-term effects of COVID-19,” he added. “Many individuals report debilitating, long-lasting effects of having been infected with COVID-19, often called ‘long COVID.’
Additional actions include expanding Department of Veterans Affairs treatment programs for long COVID, sharing more information with health care providers about the condition, and using the Department of Labor to enforce workplace laws to prevent discrimination against people on the job for having disabilities related to long COVID.
