Last week, the U.S. Congress failed to approve $15 billion needed to continue COVID-19 precautions, even though today’s low case counts are likely to rise, as they are in Europe, with the subvariant called BA.2.
We’ve learned that some expensive mitigation measures, such as deep cleaning, are a waste of money, and could be scrapped, but funding for studying COVID-19 should increase — not just for prevention measures and vaccines, but for research into the long-term consequences of infection.
Some people who got COVID-19 early in the pandemic still haven’t recovered, and what looked like long COVID-19 might, for some people, be a permanent condition if no treatment is found. The lingering symptoms are often different from those associated with acute infection. Patients report changes in memory, trouble thinking clearly or concentrating, mood disorders, sleep disturbances, changes in balance and gastrointestinal problems. Some have a form of fatigue that can get much worse with physical or mental exertion.