US Health Agency Targets Effects of 'Long COVID'
2023-08-08
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1The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) is beginning a group of studies aimed at treatments for the condition called long COVID.
2Reports say millions of Americans are affected by long-lasting effects from COVID-19 infections.
3The NIH is using $1.15 billion provided through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to study how people recover from COVID-19.
4The project is called RECOVER.
5The goal is to pay for studies examining the health problems that COVID patients suffer long after their infection has ended.
6Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly is with Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
7He is not involved in the NIH project.
8But his own research on American veterans has brought attention to long COVID.
9Speaking about the NIH's project, he said: "This is a year or two late and smaller in scope than one would hope but nevertheless it is a step in the right direction."
10Al-Aly said getting answers is important because there are so many people pushing unproven therapies.
11The term "long COVID" is used to describe about 200 symptoms.
12It is estimated that between 10 and 30 percent of people experience some form of long COVID after an infection.
13However, even federal health officials cannot agree on what long COVID truly means.
14U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has said, "If I get 10 people, I get 10 answers of what long COVID really is."
15The RECOVER effort has followed 24,000 patients in what are called observational studies.
16The goal is to define the most common symptoms.
17The findings will help shape future tests for treatments of the symptoms.
18Current tests are already taking place.
19They include a trial of Pfizer's antiviral drug Paxlovid.
20Researchers want to find out if Paxlovid can ease long COVID symptoms.
21The idea behind the study is that some coronaviruses remain in some patients and the treatment will help them.
22Researchers are also studying treatments for "brain fog" and other thinking problems.
23Posit Science Corp. has a treatment program called BrianHQ. PASC-Cognitive Recovery is from New York City's Mount Sinai Health System.
24And Soterix Medical has a device that stimulates brain connections.
25The two additional studies will begin in the coming months.
26One will test treatments for sleep problems in people with long COVID.
27Another will target breathing and heartbeat problems.
28People's bodies perform breathing and heartbeat unconsciously.
29The problems include the disorder POTS, which results from unusual blood flow to the heart.
30One planned trial that is the subject of some disagreement involves intolerance to exercise and tiredness, or fatigue.
31It is not a normal experiment.
32It is known as a "platform study."
33This lets the NIH add new therapies at any time.
34"We can rapidly pivot," said Dr. Amy Patterson, who is with the NIH. She said a failing treatment can be dropped without ending the trial.
35She added that the study can quickly include a treatment "if something promising comes on the horizon."
36Dr. Anthony Komaroff said it is important to be flexible.
37He is a researcher from Harvard University.
38He is not involved in NIH's RECOVER program.
39But he said studying the effects of Paxlovid on long COVID patients "makes all sorts of sense."
40But he said researchers should consider extending the treatment for longer than 25 days if there is little sign of improvement.
41Komaroff said he understands that people get upset over the long wait for treatment trials.
42He believes, however, that NIH has waited the right amount of time.
43Waiting, he said, permits enough time for problems to be identified.
44"You've got to have targets," Komaroff said.
45I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.
1The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) is beginning a group of studies aimed at treatments for the condition called long COVID. 2Reports say millions of Americans are affected by long-lasting effects from COVID-19 infections. 3The NIH is using $1.15 billion provided through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to study how people recover from COVID-19. The project is called RECOVER. The goal is to pay for studies examining the health problems that COVID patients suffer long after their infection has ended. 4Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly is with Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He is not involved in the NIH project. But his own research on American veterans has brought attention to long COVID. Speaking about the NIH's project, he said: "This is a year or two late and smaller in scope than one would hope but nevertheless it is a step in the right direction." 5Al-Aly said getting answers is important because there are so many people pushing unproven therapies. 6The term "long COVID" is used to describe about 200 symptoms. It is estimated that between 10 and 30 percent of people experience some form of long COVID after an infection. 7However, even federal health officials cannot agree on what long COVID truly means. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has said, "If I get 10 people, I get 10 answers of what long COVID really is." 8The RECOVER effort has followed 24,000 patients in what are called observational studies. The goal is to define the most common symptoms. The findings will help shape future tests for treatments of the symptoms. 9Current tests are already taking place. They include a trial of Pfizer's antiviral drug Paxlovid. Researchers want to find out if Paxlovid can ease long COVID symptoms. The idea behind the study is that some coronaviruses remain in some patients and the treatment will help them. 10Researchers are also studying treatments for "brain fog" and other thinking problems. Posit Science Corp. has a treatment program called BrianHQ. PASC-Cognitive Recovery is from New York City's Mount Sinai Health System. And Soterix Medical has a device that stimulates brain connections. 11The two additional studies will begin in the coming months. One will test treatments for sleep problems in people with long COVID. Another will target breathing and heartbeat problems. People's bodies perform breathing and heartbeat unconsciously. The problems include the disorder POTS, which results from unusual blood flow to the heart. 12One planned trial that is the subject of some disagreement involves intolerance to exercise and tiredness, or fatigue. It is not a normal experiment. It is known as a "platform study." This lets the NIH add new therapies at any time. 13"We can rapidly pivot," said Dr. Amy Patterson, who is with the NIH. She said a failing treatment can be dropped without ending the trial. She added that the study can quickly include a treatment "if something promising comes on the horizon." 14Dr. Anthony Komaroff said it is important to be flexible. He is a researcher from Harvard University. He is not involved in NIH's RECOVER program. But he said studying the effects of Paxlovid on long COVID patients "makes all sorts of sense." But he said researchers should consider extending the treatment for longer than 25 days if there is little sign of improvement. 15Komaroff said he understands that people get upset over the long wait for treatment trials. He believes, however, that NIH has waited the right amount of time. Waiting, he said, permits enough time for problems to be identified. 16"You've got to have targets," Komaroff said. 17I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. 18Lauran Neergaard reported this story for the Associated Press. Mario Ritter, Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English. 19____________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21scope -n. the areas that is included or dealt with 22therapy -n. a treatment of physical or mental sickness that might or might not involve medicines 23brain fog -n. the inability to think clearly 24stimulate -v. to make something active from a less active or quiet state 25pivot -v. to turn around a central point 26horizon -n. (figurative) the future; a future time 27clue -n. something that helps a person understand or find something out that was hidden 28____________________________________________________ 29We want to hear from you. 30Here is how our comment system works: 31Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.