 Health Care |
Health Care |
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PRESENTED BY BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD ASSOCIATION |
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White House begins long COVID treatment trials |
The Biden administration is finally launching clinical trials to study potential treatments for long COVID.
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The National Institutes of Health (NIH) said Monday it will begin enrolling patients in clinical trials to test at least four potential treatments for long COVID, adding it expects additional clinical trials to test at least seven more treatments in the coming months.
The efforts announced Monday are part of the $1.15 billion RECOVER initiative that seeks to define and study the long-term effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
The initiative was launched in December 2020, and some patient advocates and public health groups have expressed frustration that it's taken more than two years for the first clinical studies to begin.
Until now, the only research that's been conducted with RECOVER funds has been observational. Observational studies don't test potential treatments. For long COVID, they merely tracked outcomes and sought to better understand the characteristics of patients.
There is no standard definition for long COVID, but there are more than 200 symptoms associated with the condition. While most people generally recover from a COVID-19 infection, for some the virus can linger and cause debilitating problems throughout the body.
According to NIH, the trials are designed to evaluate multiple treatments simultaneously to identify more swiftly those that are effective. The initial trials will focus on viral persistence and cognitive dysfunction, like brain fog and memory loss.
In addition to the clinical trials, the Department of Health and Human Services said Monday it has established an Office of Long Covid Research and Practice to lead and coordinate the administration's response to the condition.
"We know that when patients are suffering, we can never move fast enough," Acting NIH Director Lawrence Tabak said in a statement. "NIH is committed to a highly coordinated and scientifically rigorous approach to find treatments that will provide relief for the millions of people living with long COVID."
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Welcome to The Hill's Health Care newsletter, we're Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health. |
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How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond: |
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The Susan B. Anthony List, a conservative anti-abortion group, is slamming Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis for his position on abortion and sidestepping of whether he would support a federal ban on abortion. "A pro-life president has a duty to protect the lives of all Americans," said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America group, in a statement. She added that DeSantis … |
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| Health officials say that cases of leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, are surging in Central Florida. In a news release Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that Central Florida has accounted for 81 percent of reported cases in the state and almost one-fifth of reported cases nationwide. "Leprosy has been historically uncommon in the United States; incidence peaked around 1983, … |
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The personal information of 612,000 Medicare beneficiaries were accessed in a sweeping data breach that affected what could be hundreds of organizations, including the government contractor, Maximus Federal Services. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced in a press release Friday that it is notifying people affected by the data breach, which could have affected information including … |
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Alabama health care providers sue over threat of prosecution for abortion help |
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Health care providers in Alabama, where abortion is almost entirely illegal, filed a lawsuit Monday against the state's attorney general that seeks to prevent him from prosecuting people who help women travel outside the state to receive an abortion. The providers say Attorney General Steve Marshall has made statements … |
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A MESSAGE FROM BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD ASSOCIATION |
National Partnership, Local Impact |
To combat the youth mental health crisis, Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies are partnering with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, investing over $10 million to support 3.6M children. Learn more. |
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Local and state headlines on health care: |
- Doctors emerge as political force in battle over abortion laws in Ohio and elsewhere (ProPublica)
- Most states received a D or F grade on maternal mental health. It could get worse (CNN)
- The future of abortion in Florida could hinge on Hispanic voters (The 19th News)
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Health news we've flagged from other outlets: |
- Promising new Alzheimer's drugs may benefit whites more than Blacks (Reuters)
- Vivek Ramaswamy wants to 'gut' the FDA. His claims don't hold up to scrutiny (Stat)
- To protect a mother's health: how abortion ban exemptions play out in a post-'Roe' world (KFF Health News)
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Most read stories on The Hill right now: |
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A popular narrative suggests young people are liberal and getting more liberal. Thus, social media buzzed when a chart surfaced in spring that seemed … Read more |
| President Biden overturned a decision from the Trump administration to relocate the temporary headquarters of Space Command to Alabama, deciding instead … Read more |
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You're all caught up. See you tomorrow! |
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