Sanders Proposes 'Moonshot' Bill to Combat Long Covid Crisis

Over four months after seeking public comments on long Covid legislation, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Friday unveiled a bill to help tackle the crisis "that is affecting more than 22 million adults and 1 million children across the United States—and millions more around the globe."

Long Covid "can include a wide range of ongoing symptoms and conditions that can last weeks, months, or even years" after an initial infection, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms can include brain fog, fatigue, heart palpitations, mood changes, muscle or joint pain, shortness of breath, and difficulty sleeping.

The Long Covid Research Moonshot Act of 2024 would provide the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with $1 billion in mandatory funding per year for a decade to support studies, the pursuit of treatments, and the expansion of care for U.S. patients impacted by the condition.

As Sanders' (I-Vt.) office highlighted, the bill would:

• 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; and
• Develop and implement best practices for clinical care and social services.

"For far too long, millions of Americans suffering from long Covid have had their symptoms dismissed or ignored—by the medical community, by the media, and by Congress," said Sanders, chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP). "That is unacceptable and has got to change."

"The legislation that we have introduced finally recognizes that long Covid is a public health emergency and provides an historic investment into research, development, and education needed to counter the effects of this terrible disease," he continued. "Congress must act now to ensure treatments are developed and made available for Americans struggling with long Covid. Yes. It is time for a long Covid moonshot."

In addition to Sanders, the bill is backed by Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.). It also has support from over 45 groups including Body Politic, Covid-19 Longhauler Advocacy Project, Long Covid Alliance, Infectious Diseases Society of America, Marked by Covid, Mount Sinai Health System, National Partnership for Women and Families, and Patient-Led Research Collaborative (PLRC).

"The act is a historic piece of legislation," PLRC said on social media, sharing some details about the proposal. "We are so grateful for Sens. Sanders, Kaine, Markey, Welch, Duckworth, and Smith's leadership on #LongCovid, and for responding to the patient community's call with this incredible bill."

"This took a tremendous amount of work behind the scenes. PLRC is so honored to have been part of this process and so appreciative of everyone involved!" the group added. "This is a rare opportunity that most illnesses will never have and a chance that may not come again. In the coming months we will need the full support of the community and all allies to rally around this bill, and to call your representatives to support and co-sponsor this bill."

The groups #MEAction and Solve M.E. also support the legislation, and advocates for people with other diagnoses celebrated that the NIH initiative would be directed to "conduct 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."

The bill also states that the program should "conduct comparative research to understand the similarities and differences between long Covid and severe, long-term effects from Covid-19 vaccinations," which were rolled out globally—though unequally and inadequately—during the pandemic.