News from the USA, United States of America

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I assume there is a thread on this, but I didn't see, so mods please feel free to move/delete as needed.

New Scientist magazine cover story this week was on “Five Years of Covid-19”. Sharing two of the several features.

- New Scientist: 'Everything we know about long covid - including how to reduce the risk'

'Some people have been living with long covid for five years, but we are still just starting to learn about its exact causes and how best to treat the condition’

“There is some form of mitochondrial dysfunction happening in people with long covid,” says Al-Aly. Last year, Wüst’s team reported muscle abnormalities in people with long covid-related post-exertional fatigue, which indicated that their mitochondria weren’t working properly.”

- New Scientist: 'We must revisit the covid-19 pandemic to prepare for future outbreaks’

"...there are also still questions to address with regards to covid-19. People with long covid still aren’t receiving the support that they need”
 
https://www.hmpgloballearningnetwork.com/site/rheum/podcasts/leonard-calabrese-do-long-covid

Leonard Calabrese, DO, on Long COVID Similarities to Fibromyalgia, ME/CFS
01/02/2025
Dr Calabrese discusses the similarities between long COVID, fibromyalgia, and in its most severe form, myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, and the importance of reassuring patients that their symptoms and conditions are real.
[..]
Secondly, for those people in the mild to moderate end of this, we treat them very much like fibromyalgia. We use very holistic care, exercise, mind-body techniques that have been demonstrated in fibromyalgia, very important, depending upon what their chief complaint is.
[..]
Well, as you said, this is a complicated topic, but fibromyalgia is a disease that rheumatologists are familiar with. It's also referred to as a nociplastic pain disorder, and that conjures up mechanisms of central sensitization, and this is part of the jargon of rheumatology. We understand that this is overrepresented women, overrepresented in patients with immune diseases, and it's characterized by pain, fatigue, disability, neurocognitive dysfunction, and importantly, the majority of people who have this respond to wellness and individually prescribed exercise regimen. So it's a big disease and it is something that we deal with.
 
KSTP: “Hope fades for proposed Long COVID research investment a year after patients pack U.S. Senate”

“In the meantime, moves are being made in Minnesota. New state legislation is in the early stages and expected to be introduced this year…”

“If you look at every other major disease category, it is ME/CFS, Long COVID by far — especially ME/CFS, are greatly outspent,” Schneider said.

“Research currently happening on smaller scales across the country encourages her, but she said it’s not enough.”

“No, there’s not enough investment right now for Long COVID and ME/CFS period. I mean, we’ve known this for a very, very long time,” she said.”

“The Minnesota Department of Health is also expected to share the results of its Long COVID study in the coming weeks.”

From KSTP Twitter:

https://twitter.com/user/status/1876072954959733121
 
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New York Times: 'Paxlovid Improved Long Covid Symptoms in Some Patients, Researchers Report'

'But the report, on the experiences of 13 patients, found that the drug had no benefit for some people & that some who benefited said the improvement didn’t last'

"..there is still little known about what can help the millions of people with long Covid."

“People with long Covid are eager for treatments that can help,” said Alison Cohen, an epidemiologist at the University of California, San Francisco, who is an author of the new report and has long Covid herself. “There’s been a lot of research, but it continues to be slow going.”
 
Dakota15 said:
New York Times: 'Paxlovid Improved Long Covid Symptoms in Some Patients, Researchers Report'

'But the report, on the experiences of 13 patients, found that the drug had no benefit for some people & that some who benefited said the improvement didn’t last'

"..there is still little known about what can help the millions of people with long Covid."

“People with long Covid are eager for treatments that can help,” said Alison Cohen, an epidemiologist at the University of California, San Francisco, who is an author of the new report and has long Covid herself. “There’s been a lot of research, but it continues to be slow going.”
Click to expand...
Thread on this paper including its press release:
https://www.s4me.info/threads/impac...ed-long-covid-a-case-series-2025-cohen.42001/
 
Dakota15 said:
New York Times: 'Paxlovid Improved Long Covid Symptoms in Some Patients, Researchers Report'

'But the report, on the experiences of 13 patients, found that the drug had no benefit for some people & that some who benefited said the improvement didn’t last'

"..there is still little known about what can help the millions of people with long Covid."

“People with long Covid are eager for treatments that can help,” said Alison Cohen, an epidemiologist at the University of California, San Francisco, who is an author of the new report and has long Covid herself. “There’s been a lot of research, but it continues to be slow going.”
Click to expand...
Ironic that this is the entire claim of evidence for CBT and GET. And yet the conclusion is entirely different, even though it's actually better for Paxlovid since it doesn't include insulting gaslighting denial of the illness itself, and doesn't cause deterioration like GET. Funny how that works. Almost like a religion v. science split.

Almost.
 
This is from 2023, but sharing for sight as I came across today from an MD affiliated with Univ. of Minnesota in a letter addressed to the MN House of Representatives on LC & ME.

3/20/23, 'Bazak Sharon, MD - Univ. of Minnesota: 'Letter to Minnesota House of Representatives, Chair Leibling & Committee Members'

Excerpts:

'So far I have seen more than 100 children with complaints of variety of persistent, and often debilitating symptoms. This experience gives me an excellent vantage point to explain Long Covid, its clinical presentation, and its impact on individuals, communities, and society, particularly children and their families.

'ME/CFS is a complex disease that is characterized by overwhelming fatigue and causes substantial loss of physical and mental stamina. It debilitates patients and many cannot maintain their regular daily activities, cannot work, function as they used to, and some are bed ridden and lose their mobility. But ME/CFS not only incapacitate individual patients, but it also represents a substantial burden of families, communities, and the economy. The estimate annual direct and indirect economic costs of ME/CFS are between $17 and $24 billion.'

'The pathology seen in patients with Long Covid is very similar to other post-viral syndrome and in addition to ME/CFS..'

'This association between Long Covid and ME/CFS also represents an opportunity to tackle these challenges in two fronts. First, we can build on the knowledge and experience we have about the diagnosis and management of ME/CFS to design the optimal response to long covid. Model for effective management include increasing access to healthcare, educating primary care providers and providing resources, promoting clinics to provide coordinated, holistic, and individual care.'

'Second, ME/CFS and other post-viral syndromes have long been a significant blind spot in the field of medicine. These chronic illnesses have been misunderstood for generations before becoming controversial in the age of evidence-based medicine. But even after scientific theories have emerged to explain fatigue and other chronic illnesses as sequalae of acute infection, the sporadic epidemiology of these syndromes has been a major obstacle to research. SARS-CoV-2 and the COVID-19 pandemic have provided a unique, once in a generation opportunity to combine clinical care with observational and hypotheses driven projects to study chronic illness and its association with viral infection.

The same concepts that are so important to effective management (access to care, educating primary providers, promoting coordinated care) can also serve as the foundation to longitudinal studies on a large cohort of children infected with SARS-CoV-2 in Minnesota, with implications on the scientific understanding of post-viral syndromes in all populations everywhere in the world.’
 
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1/8/25: “Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Long COVID (ACLC) Members”

“Today I am excited to announce the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services will induct in the first wave of members to the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Long COVID” - Ian Simon, Director, Office of Long COVID Research and Practice

https://www.hhs.gov/ash/advisory-committees/long-covid/members/index.html
 
1/10/25, Minnesota Department of Health: 'Impact of Long COVID Symptoms in Minnesota'

'In 2023, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) called 20,000 adult Minnesotans with a known COVID-19 infection to learn about symptoms and experiences occurring three months or more after their infection. A total of 1,270 people completed the interview.'

'Over 40% of the survey respondents reported having at least one symptom lasting three months or longer after they had COVID-19. Many experienced symptoms lasting six months or longer. Approximately 1 in 5 respondents had a long-lasting symptom that was severe. The most common long-lasting symptoms were tiredness, fatigue, shortness of breath, brain fog, and cough.'

'Two-thirds of those with long-lasting symptoms said they had difficulty performing daily activities, such as household tasks or going to work or school.'

'MDH is one of the first state health departments in the country to have a program and staff dedicated to long COVID. Work includes:

- Providing funding to 18 community partner organizations that serve disabled, myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), low income, rural, American Indian, Latine, African American, African immigrant, Asian American, Asian immigrant, and LGBTQ+ communities throughout Minnesota. These organizations reach thousands of individuals disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. They are helping us to understand the impacts of long COVID, raise awareness, and increase access to quality care and support for long COVID and related conditions.'

Link to website as well.
 
CIDRAP: '4 in 10 Minnesota COVID survivors report having at least one lingering symptom'

"This suggests that an estimated 365,000 adults in Minnesota could have experienced symptoms of long COVID," MDH wrote.'

'MDH said it is conducting a statewide study with 12 healthcare systems that serve over 90% of the state's population to recognize and describe long-COVID with the aim of improving diagnosis and treatment, particularly among underserved patient groups.'
 
Minnesota Star Tribune: 'Long COVID indeed: Symptoms linger after illness for four in 10 Minnesotans'

'State surveyors struggled to get Minnesotans to talk about their post-COVID health, but found a high rate of symptoms such as fatigue and brain fog.'

'It remains unclear why this happens, but researchers suspect that the COVID virus reprograms the immune system to mistakenly attack the body.'
 
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