For about 1 million people across the U.K., COVID-19 didn’t just go away. Instead it lingered, causing exhaustion, shortness of breath, cognitive issues and other health problems.

With England preparing to lift virtually all restrictions even as infections are surging again, scientists are concerned that the numbers impacted by what has become known as "long COVID” will climb much higher.

In a bid to understand more, the U.K.’s National Institute for Health Research on Sunday announced about £20 million ($27.5 million) in funding for 15 studies analyzing the causes of long COVID and its physical and mental health impacts.