Sen. Bernie Sanders, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), has introduced legislation to address the long COVID crisis that is affecting more than 22 million adults and 1 million children across the United States – and millions more around the globe.

The Long COVID Research Moonshot Act of 2024 provides $1 billion in mandatory funding per year for 10 years to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support long COVID research, the urgent pursuit of treatments, and the expansion of care for patients across the country.

Furthermore, the bill calls for comparative research “to understand the similarities and differences between Long COVID and other infection-associated chronic conditions with similar phenotypes, such as myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, and post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome/persistent Lyme disease, and how activities funded by the Program could improve understanding of such other conditions.”

A new research program within NIH

The Long COVID Research Moonshot Act would establish a new research program within the NIH to better understand, prevent, diagnose, manage, and treat long COVID and related conditions. The legislation would also:

• Require the NIH to establish a long COVID database, advisory board, and a new grant process that would accelerate clinical trials.
• Fund information gathering and public health education.
• Require any new treatments developed by the NIH to be reasonably priced so that every patient can receive it.
• Fund multidisciplinary long COVID clinics that provide comprehensive, coordinated care – especially in underserved, disproportionately-impacted communities.
• Develop and implement best practices for clinical care and social services.

As Chairman of the HELP Committee, Sanders led a hearing in January on the long COVID crisis to hear directly from patients, researchers, and health care providers on the major impact of long COVID on their lives, their work, and their communities.

Before releasing the legislation, Sanders also sought input from patients and the medical community on how the legislation could be improved and strengthened.

This legislation is endorsed by more than 45 organizations, including: Mount Sinai Health System, National Partnership for Women and Families, LymeDisease.org, Solve M.E., Long COVID Alliance, #MEAction, Body Politic, Patient-Led Research Collaborative, COVID-19 Longhauler Advocacy Project, and Marked by COVID.

Read the bill text, here.
Read the summary, here.
Read the section-by-section, here.

SOURCE: U. S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions