By Shannon Pettypiece -
NBC News
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden in a memo Tuesday called for the federal government to expedite its investigation into prolonged COVID-19, a condition that remains a mystery to doctors and affects millions of Americans for more than two years. from the start of the pandemic.
In the memo, Biden directed Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to coordinate a new federal government-wide research effort focused on prevention, diagnosis, treatment and support for those experiencing prolonged symptoms of COVID-19.
[USA. guarantees more free COVID-19 tests]
Pandemic-related mental health issues, substance abuse and loss of loved ones are also included, the White House said.
"Prolonged COVID-19 is real and there is still a lot we don't know about it
," Becerra said at a press conference on Tuesday.
“Millions of Americans may be struggling with lingering health effects, ranging from things that are easier to notice, like trouble breathing or an irregular heartbeat, to less apparent but potentially serious conditions that are related to the brain or brain. mental health".
A registered nurse treats a patient at the Tarzana Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, on March 11, 2021. Damian Dovarganes / AP
Researchers estimate that as many as 23 million Americans continue to suffer from long-term symptoms of COVID-19, including chronic pain, persistent dizziness, and memory loss.
It remains a mystery to
scientists why some people's symptoms go away in a matter of days
, while others, even those with mild cases, persist for months or years.
[Four out of 10 US students suffer from mental health problems due to the pandemic]
Biden asked that a study be accelerated that the National Institutes of Health began last year and that will cost 1.5 billion, in which they will be monitoring 40,000 people divided into a group that has experienced long-term COVID and another that has not, to treat to better understand the condition.
Biden also proposed spending an additional $25 million on a $50 million study launched last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to understand risk factors, mechanisms of action and the characteristics of long-term COVID-19, as announced by the White House.
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Biden has proposed spending $20 million to investigate how health care systems can provide better care for patients with prolonged COVID-19 and expand clinics run by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the White House announced.
Additionally, the Administration will seek to raise awareness of long-standing COVID-19 as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Administration will also look at other ways to improve insurance coverage for long-term coronavirus sufferers, in addition to changes made last year to improve coverage for those with Medicaid and Medicare.
An NBC News investigation last month uncovered gaps in the social safety net meant to help long-term COVID-19 sufferers, including difficulty accessing unemployment insurance and long-term disability insurance benefits. term for many Americans with the disease, who may be too sick to work but not ready to leave the workforce entirely.
[A man who received the COVID-19 vaccine at least 87 times was captured in Germany]
As the government tries to address the long-term effects of the virus, officials are also watching whether the country could see a short-term spike in hospitalizations with a new, more contagious variant that is now the dominant strain in the United States.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, speaking at the same coronavirus briefing as Becerra, said there are a "handful" of counties that are seeing increased signs of severe illness.
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Concerns about a further rise in cases come as the Biden administration continues to press Congress for more COVID-19 relief funds.
Top negotiators on Monday announced a bipartisan deal on $10 billion in coronavirus aid, far short of the $22.5 billion the White House had been seeking.
White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeffrey Zients called it "true disappointment" that the new deal does not include funding for US efforts to fight the virus abroad.
[COVID-19 hospitalizations drop to their lowest point since the start of the pandemic]
“The bill is a start, it should be passed immediately.
But it is exactly that, only the beginning”, he clarified to the journalists.
“Congress must continue to work to immediately provide additional funding for our remaining domestic needs so that we are prepared for whatever comes and, more importantly, act urgently to fund our global response to the pandemic,” Zients stated.
Still, the United States plans to donate "tens of millions" of doses of pediatric COVID-19 vaccines to underprivileged countries using existing resources, according to Zients, who added that this would likely be their last coronavirus briefing.
Dr. Ashish Jha is scheduled to take over as the White House's new COVID-19 response coordinator this month.
