The White House also acknowledged that long COVID appears to be a disability, meaning that patients could be entitled to the protection of federal laws that prohibit discrimination based on health conditions.
The White House said Biden's order will expand and build on a $1 billion research study already underway at NIH, called the RECOVER Initiative. One goal is to speed signing up 40,000 people with and without long COVID into the study. Around that effort, Health and Human Services will coordinate a government-wide research plan on long COVID.
Biden's order puts a major focus on treatment. An HHS unit called the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality will investigate best practices and get useful guidance to doctors, hospitals and patients. The Department of Veterans Affairs, which already has 18 facilities running long COVID programs, will serve as an incubator of ideas and strategies. The administration is seeking $20 million from Congress for “centers of excellence” to develop templates for care.
“For our culture today, which needs answers yesterday, it’s just hard,’’ Carnavali said. “In chronic disease, in general, it’s not how it works. We have other examples, from HIV, answers did not come right away."