HHS Closing Long COVID Office

 The Office of Long COVID Research and Practice will close as soon as this week, according to an internal HHS email obtained by Inside Medicine. The authenticity of the email was confirmed by a government employee familiar with the situation. The email states that this action is related to the Trump administration's "reorganization," but little else has been shared.

Here is the text of the email:

"Dear Colleagues,

We are writing to let you know that the Office of Long COVID Research and Practice will be closing as part of the administration's reorganization coming this week. We are proud of what we have accomplished together in advancing understanding, resources, and support for people living with Long COVID.

Over the last 3+ years, we have built meaningful connections and fruitful collaborations across the federal landscape to support this work. While our office is closing, we hope that the work we have been dedicated to will continue in some form. Updates will be shared as they become available.

Thank you again for your collaboration and commitment.

Best regards,

Ian Simon, PhD

Director, Office of Long COVID Research and Practice

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health

et al..."

The move is both expected and unexpected. Any project of the Biden administration would seem to be ripe as a target, regardless whether the work has been successful or not. On the other hand, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said that he wishes to focus on chronic diseases, and long COVID certainly is one.

But its history may be the key here. The Office of Long COVID Research and Practice was established in 2023 by the HHS secretary under President Biden, Xavier Becerra. However, technically, the office fell under the purview of then-Assistant Secretary of Health Admiral Rachel Levine, MD, the highest openly transgender person ever to serve in the United States Public Health Service. Given the Trump administration's stated hostility toward transgender issues, it is not surprising that it would target projects championed by Levine.

Palace intrigue aside, the main objective of the Office of Long COVID Research was to lead a "government-wide coordination of long COVID strategy, planning, and activities to address the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, integrated into the HHS mission to improve health in disadvantaged communities and vulnerable populations across the nation."

Details on the implementation of the office's work can be found hereopens in a new tab or window.

The number of Americans with long COVID is unknown, but it is likely that millions of people have been affected. The effect that this will have on long COVID research is unknown, but the Office of Long COVID was seen as an important part of a broader effort to understand the condition that includes both government and non-government researchers.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/faustfiles/114821