thesicktimes.org

# The Sick Times

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Chronicling the Long COVID crisis

## Sitemaps

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## Posts

- [Anil van der Zee receives Dutch royal distinction](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/10/02/anil-van-der-zee-receives-dutch-royal-distinction/): The newly knighted ME advocate discusses his royal honor with David Tuller.
- [I interviewed five people with Long COVID in prison. They are invisible in the system.](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/09/29/i-interviewed-five-people-with-long-covid-in-prison-they-are-invisible-in-the-system/): While there are no data sources on Long COVID in prison, experts suspect rates of the disease may be higher there than in the general population. They face high reinfection risks and poor access to medical care.
- [National COVID-19 trends, September 29](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/09/29/national-covid-19-trends-september-29/): The current COVID-19 picture remains varied by region: as the summer wave continues into early fall, cases are trending up in the Northeast and parts of the West and down in the South. And an upcoming gap between CDC contracts will further restrict available data.
- [Denial is a tactic for both the COVID-19 and climate crises](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/09/15/denial-is-a-tactic-for-both-the-covid-19-and-climate-crises/): Corporate interests have had more say in our behaviors toward both COVID-19 and the climate crisis than any evidence-based public health response.
- [Bezisterim may help with some Long COVID symptoms, drug’s developer reports in early trial results](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/09/15/bezisterim-may-help-with-some-long-covid-symptoms-drugs-developer-reports-in-early-trial-results/): While the phase 2 clinical trial results, shared by BioVie in a webinar on Tuesday, have yet to be peer-reviewed, investigators say they can inform a confirmatory phase 3 trial.
- [Research updates, September 22](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/09/22/research-updates-september-22/): A small study in NeuroImage: Reports has found more evidence of reduced blood flow to the brain of people with Long COVID. The authors concluded that this abnormality was linked with fatigue, after they assessed brain imaging results of 22 people with Long COVID and compared them with 19 controls.
- [National COVID-19 trends, September 22](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/09/22/national-covid-19-trends-september-22/): While national averages for COVID-19 metrics appear to be at a peak or plateau as of mid-September, the picture actually looks pretty different from region to region. COVID-19 spread seems to have peaked for the summer in the South, but may still be increasing in the West and is starting to go up more in Northern states.
- [COVID-19 — not TikTok — is disabling young women](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/09/21/covid-19-not-tiktok-is-disabling-young-women/): The Telegraph published an article titled, “How having a disability became cool." This article shores up the government narrative that rising rates of disability are being driven, not by the ongoing and unchecked spread of COVID-19, but by people just deciding they want to “identify as disabled.”
- [People with Long COVID demand pause of McMaster University clinical trial](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/09/22/people-with-long-covid-demand-pause-of-mcmaster-university-clinical-trial/): The trial, run by researchers at McMaster University in Canada, is testing the Lightning Process, a pseudoscientific mind-body program that outside experts have heavily criticized.
- [Research updates, September 29](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/09/29/research-updates-september-29/): A small clinical trial found Remdesivir was safe for people with Long COVID and that some exploratory results warrant a larger trial. The U.K. trial, which included 73 participants who took a five day course of the intravenous antiviral COVID-19 drug, was published in Oxford Open Immunology.
- [Research updates, September 15](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/09/15/research-updates-september-15/): Repeat SARS-C0V-2 infections were linked to a higher odds of new health conditions, according to a new study in the Canada Communicable Disease Report.
- [National COVID-19 trends, September 15](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/09/15/national-covid-19-trends-september-15/): This summer’s COVID-19 wave may have reached its peak in some parts of the country, as major metrics report disease levels stagnating or starting to decline as of early September. But levels remain high in many places, particularly in the West and South. And we are approaching the start of the season for flu and other respiratory viruses that spread in colder weather.
- [We made a COVID-19 memorial in the ashes of a Joshua tree forest](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/09/08/we-made-a-covid-19-memorial-in-the-ashes-of-a-joshua-tree-forest/): Despite nearly 1.3 million deaths and counting, there is still not a national memorial for the pandemic. Our informal memorial in the middle of the Mojave Desert is one small way to remember those we’ve lost so far.
- [Department of Defense funds $8 million grant for Long COVID trials](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/09/01/department-of-defense-funds-8-million-grant-for-long-covid-trials/): A new U.S. clinical trials program called PROBE-PASC was announced on Friday at a Long COVID conference in Amsterdam. The program received initial funding of $8 million from a Department of Defense (DOD) grant.
- [Research updates, September 1](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/09/01/research-updates-september-1/): People with Long COVID are at a higher risk for cardiovascular, renal, and pulmonary (CRP) outcomes, according to a large observational study published in Journal of the American Heart Association. The study was a retrospective study and assessed more than 2.6 million people who developed COVID-19, comparing about 158,000 people who had been diagnosed with Long COVID with the larger group of controls.
- [National COVID-19 trends, September 1](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/09/01/national-covid-19-trends-september-1/): The U.S.’s summer 2026 COVID-19 wave is in full swing. All disease tracking metrics report increased spread across the country, and the school year’s start and upcoming holiday weekend will cause further outbreaks. The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has approved updated vaccines for this year, but they may be hard to access for many people thanks to Trump administration policies.
- [“We’re going to stop the gaslighting right now”: How I’m fighting back as a Black woman with Long COVID](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/08/28/were-going-to-stop-the-gaslighting-right-now-how-im-fighting-back-as-a-black-woman-with-long-covid/): Despite prior experience working in public health, I’ve faced challenges getting care for Long COVID and chronic seizures.
- [Research updates, August 25](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/08/25/research-updates-august-25/): Another observational study found more evidence of endothelial dysfunction in Long COVID. German researchers evaluated the eyes of 102 people with Long COVID, comparing them to 102 people “recovered” from COVID-19, as well as controls.
- [Help The Sick Times’ newsletter reach more readers](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/08/25/help-the-sick-times-newsletter-reach-more-readers/): As social media platforms and search engines become even less reliable, we are encouraging readers to sign up for our newsletter to make sure that they don’t miss our original stories — and share the newsletter with their friends and community members.
- [National COVID-19 trends, August 25](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/08/25/national-covid-19-trends-august-25/): Here are the latest national COVID-19 trends, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and major wastewater surveillance providers: SARS-CoV-2 concentration in wastewater increased 39% between August 5 and August 12, and the national wastewater trend is “high” (high concentration and upward trend), per WastewaterSCAN. SARS-CoV-2 concentration in wastewater increased 23%
- [“Hope to outlast the storm”: How severe ME impacts two brothers](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/08/21/hope-to-outlast-the-storm-how-severe-me-impacts-two-brothers/): Essays documenting the toll that myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) has taken on one family, from the new book, 'What Is Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Like?'
- [National COVID-19 trends, August 18](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/08/18/national-covid-19-trends-august-18/): COVID-19 spread continues to increase across the U.S. as this summer’s wave keeps climbing. While levels are highest in the West and South, there are hotspots in all regions. The CDC as well as mainstream media sources are downplaying this wave as they have many others.
- [Research updates, August 18](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/08/18/research-updates-august-18/): Researchers found immune abnormalities in the intestines of people with Long COVID, according to a new preprint. The small study compared colon tissue samples and blood of 44 people with Long COVID to 13 controls who “recovered” from COVID-19, using several different analysis methods.
- [Congress’s 2027 budget could include new funding for Long COVID and ME](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/08/18/congresss-2027-budget-could-include-new-funding-for-long-covid-and-me/): Advocates are calling on senators and representatives to include the ME/CFS Research Roadmap and new Long COVID funding in the fiscal year 2027 budget as legislators debate appropriations bills in the coming weeks.
- [Breast cancer exposed the lack of care I receive for Long COVID](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/08/14/breast-cancer-exposed-the-lack-of-care-i-receive-for-long-covid/): Cancer has a sadly well-worn path. It showed me that I deserve dignity and support for Long COVID.
- [“This exhaustion is cellular”: Excerpts from the new book ‘What Is Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Like?’](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/08/08/this-exhaustion-is-cellular-excerpts-from-the-new-book-what-is-myalgic-encephalomyelitis-like/): Essays focusing on Severe Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), from a new book by an international group of writers documenting their ME experiences.
- [VIPER aims to fast track Long COVID biomarkers. Here’s how it works.](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/08/11/viper-aims-to-fast-track-long-covid-biomarkers-heres-how-it-works/): Led by researchers at UCSF, the research program plans to validate promising candidates for noninvasive tests that can be used to advance clinical trials.
- [How do you spot Long COVID misinformation?](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/08/07/how-do-you-spot-long-covid-misinformation/): In this episode, Miles Griffis and Betsy Ladyzhets talk to Long COVID physician, patient and advocate Zeest Khan about her Long COVID journey, how she looks at new research and off-label treatments as a physician, and how to spot misinformation and pseudoscience online.
- [Research updates, August 11](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/08/11/research-updates-august-11/): COVID-19 can reactivate dormant viruses in the body, confirms new research in Nature.
- [National COVID-19 trends, August 11](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/08/11/national-covid-19-trends-august-11/): A summer COVID-19 wave is still rising in the U.S., according to data through late July. Increases in disease spread are most pronounced in the South and West, but all regions have growing outbreaks. This summer’s wave started later and lower than similar waves in prior years, making it difficult to anticipate what might happen in the coming months.
- [There’s a long history of person-first language in advocacy. Here’s why we should use it for Long COVID.](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/08/04/theres-a-long-history-of-person-first-language-in-advocacy-heres-why-we-should-use-it-for-long-covid/): Labeling people with Long COVID as “patients” is stigmatizing and personally and politically harmful. It strips personal agency. And frankly, it’s bad PR.
- [Research updates, August 4](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/08/04/research-updates-august-4/): A new study in Nature Communications confirmed skeletal muscle abnormalities in Long COVID and ME. The study, which furthered past research on post-exertional malaise from the same research group, compared various exercise tests and biopsies of people with Long COVID and ME to results from people who underwent 60 days of strict bedrest, as well as results from controls.
- [National COVID-19 trends, August 4](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/08/04/national-covid-19-trends-august-4/): The U.S. is about a month into a summer COVID-19 wave, with levels rising across much of the country, especially in the West and South. Still, some data sources continue to report “low” levels as compared to historical data, due to the long and lower-than-usual lull that preceded this wave.
- [PolyBio announces $15 million in Long Covid research funding, new projects studying viral persistence](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/02/22/polybio-announces-15-million-in-long-covid-research-funding-new-projects-studying-viral-persistence/): PolyBio Research Foundation, a leading organization in supporting research for Long Covid and related chronic diseases, announced a new round of funding focused on identifying potential Long Covid treatments on Thursday. The research projects, which received a total of $15 million in funding, plan to study the potential biological underpinnings of Long Covid and begin testing promising therapies.
- [Live blog: Following the Fall 2024 PolyBio Symposium on Long COVID research](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/11/08/live-blog-following-the-fall-2024-polybio-research-symposium-on-long-covid/): On Friday, a number of prominent Long COVID scientists are set to present updates on their work at the PolyBio Research Foundation’s fall research symposium. PolyBio is a leading organization in supporting formative Long COVID science; it has backed research into Long COVID’s biological causes as well as clinical trials aiming to address those underlying issues.
- [Live blog: PolyBio's Fall 2025 Symposium shares Long COVID and related disease research updates](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/11/14/live-blog-polybios-fall-2025-symposium-shares-long-covid-and-related-disease-research-updates/): Leading Long COVID and related disease researchers are set to present updates to their work today at the PolyBio Research Foundation’s Fall 2025 Symposium. PolyBio supports some of the most highly-anticipated research projects in infection-associated chronic conditions (IACCs).
- [Research updates, July 28](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/07/28/research-updates-july-28/): A new study found persistent neuromuscular abnormalities in Long COVID. The small follow-up study, published in Neurophysiologie Clinique, included 50 people with Long COVID who underwent two types of electromyography tests, which can provide objective measures of muscle function.
- [Why is airborne disease transmission still controversial to doctors?](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/07/24/why-is-airborne-disease-transmission-still-controversial-to-doctors/): Mal was tired of mainstream media misrepresenting COVID-19 and Long COVID, so she picked up a mic and a camera and told the story herself. Thus, Lola Germs was born.
- [Dysautonomia conference centers biomarkers and post-exertional malaise](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/07/28/dysautonomia-conference-centers-biomarkers-and-post-exertional-malaise/): The 14th annual Dysautonomia International conference outside Houston included presentations on the role of autoimmunity in dysautonomia and a biobank initiative for POTS research.
- [National COVID-19 trends, July 28](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/07/28/national-covid-19-trends-july-28/): A summer COVID-19 wave continues to pick up momentum in the U.S. While disease levels remain on the lower end compared to past summers, almost all major metrics are showing increases across the country. Other public health threats, including cyclospora and measles, are also still on the rise.
- [What can professional athletes teach us about Long COVID and rest?](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/07/17/what-can-professional-athletes-teach-us-about-long-covid-and-rest/): Oonagh Cousins was preselected for the Tokyo Olympics as a professional rower on the British team — until Long COVID derailed everything.In this episode of Still Here, co-hosts Miles Griffis and Betsy Ladyzhets talk to Cousins about developing severe Long COVID at the start of the pandemic, her years-long attempt to return to elite training,
- [The (sick) kids aren’t alright: Observations from a teacher with Long COVID](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/07/24/the-sick-kids-arent-alright-observations-from-a-teacher-with-long-covid/): We must help students by addressing Long COVID and advocating for clean air in schools.
- [How to interpret clinical trial results for Long COVID](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/07/21/how-to-interpret-clinical-trial-results-for-long-covid/): With no proven treatments or cures, many people with Long COVID are turning to off-label medications, supplements, and medical devices to treat their symptoms. There are numerous options — and some of them even have clinical trials underway or are reporting results. But even if one study suggests a treatment might work, another might contradict it.
- [Research updates, July 21](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/07/21/research-updates-july-21/): The dementia drug donepezil helped decrease fatigue in a subset of people with Long COVID, according to a study published in Frontiers in Pharmacology. In the complex study, which also included testing in mice, Japanese researchers found a majority of people with Long COVID in the cohort had reactivated human herpes virus 6 (HHV-6), which produced a specific protein (SITH-1) that they linked to symptoms of fatigue and depression.
- [National COVID-19 trends, July 21](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/07/21/national-covid-19-trends-july-21/): We keep seeing more signs that a summer COVID-19 wave is underway in the U.S. The South and West have the most definitive signals of increasing cases, but there are potential outbreaks across the country. Still, as we’ve had a lower-than-average lull between waves this spring, recent levels are still very low compared to past summers.
- [Abandoned by our governments, people with severe ME and Long COVID are supported by severely ill peers](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/07/20/abandoned-by-our-governments-people-with-severe-me-and-long-covid-are-supported-by-severely-ill-peers/): Mari, a Black Canadian woman with severe myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), is supported by fellow people with ME in the absence of institutional care.
- [How to protect your community from ICE when you have Long COVID](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/07/07/how-to-protect-your-community-from-ice-when-you-have-long-covid/): People are taking on immigration enforcement from bed and the streets. We talked to two organizers for tips to participate in resistance while staying safe.
- [Stop telling women their Long COVID is menopause](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/07/10/stop-telling-women-their-long-covid-is-menopause/): From friends to medics, women are used to having their health issues dismissed, minimized, or blamed on their hormones.
- [Experimental peptides are being advertised for Long COVID. But the evidence is trailing behind.](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/07/14/experimental-peptides-are-being-advertised-for-long-covid-but-the-evidence-is-trailing-behind/): Some FDA-approved GLP-1s are being studied in clinical trials for the disease, but their results aren’t available yet. Experts caution against using experimental peptides for Long COVID.
- [Research updates, July 14](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/07/14/research-updates-july-14/): COVID-19 can cause long-term eye disorders, according to a cross sectional study in Nature Communications. Researchers in Sweden assessed 100 people with Long COVID and compared them to 32 people who had COVID-19 and “recovered.”
- [National COVID-19 trends, July 14](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/07/14/national-covid-19-trends-july-14/): As of early July, it’s clear that a summer COVID-19 wave is getting started in the U.S. Disease levels are going up in the South and parts of the West Coast. While national and regional estimates are still low following a long spring lull, it’s worth noting that the latest data are usually a week or two old and case counts may be higher in your area than they appear.
- ["Unspooling", an excerpt from Alice Wong's <i>Disability Intimacy</i>](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/05/06/unspooling-an-excerpt-from-alice-wongs-disability-intimacy/): Disabled love is a different kind of love. It's neither born from blood ties nor proximity. It doesn't hold to the same rules as romantic, platonic, or familial love. It comes from a shared desire for a better world. It sustains us in moments when we don't love ourselves, and it offers a tether to cling to as we cycle through grief and readjustment. It's not performative or draining. These days, I weave disabled love into my life like a practiced artisan. I spin threads of love from late-night phone calls, Zoom get-togethers, and disparate Twitter threads. Hand over hand, I wind up scraps of wisdom from those who've come before me. I weave line after line, watching as patterns spring into existence, crafted from the instructions they have patiently and lovingly written down. I tamp down row after row, interlacing the love I have for me, the love I have for you, the love I have for us. The craft itself, and the result, is a thing of beauty.
- ["Stand Together," an excerpt from The Covid Safety Handbook](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/01/07/stand-together-an-excerpt-from-the-covid-safety-handbook/): The Covid Safety Handbook is informed by the global, national, local, and neighborhood care circles coming together under the banner of Covid prevention to center science, accurate and non-judgemental information, inclusiveness, and equity in public health. This book draws strength from all the tireless variant hunters and wastewater trackers around the world who struggle to maintain and share the work of Covid-19 surveillance. It is inspired by the global formations of community-led mask blocs, Corsi-Rosenthal Box workshops, Covid-safe maps and meetup networks, Covid safety subreddits (and Discords, Facebook groups, and Slacks), clean air in schools organizations around the world, and those fighting to reinstate masks in healthcare everywhere.
- [Research updates, July 7](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/07/07/research-updates-july-7/): An autopsy study found persistent SARS-CoV-2 virus in the hearts of some people who had died after having COVID-19. A part of the National Institute of Health’s RECOVER program, the researchers shared their unpublished results in a poster at a pathology conference this spring.
- [Making Pride Accessible: Six queer artists reflect on performing with Long COVID](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/07/07/making-pride-accessible-six-queer-artists-reflect-on-performing-with-long-covid/): The Sick Times hosted a virtual variety show for Pride, giving queer and trans people with Long COVID the option to celebrate together, from home.
- [National COVID-19 trends, July 7](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/07/07/national-covid-19-trends-july-7/): While national COVID-19 averages remain low in the U.S., signals continue to accumulate that a summer wave is getting underway. It’s starting most prominently in the South, but there are also notable increases and hotspots in other parts of the country. As the latest data are from late June (before the recent holiday), actual COVID-19 levels are likely now higher in these locations.
- [How are disabled artists redefining Pride?](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/07/03/how-are-disabled-artists-redefining-pride/): To wrap up LGBTQ+ Pride Month 2026, The Sick Times hosted Virtual Pride, a COVID-conscious drag show featuring queer and disabled performers in the Long COVID community from across the country, hosted by Sick Times contributor and poet Khalil Dennis.
- [Editor's letter: Fight Long COVID denial by becoming a Supporter of The Sick Times](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/07/03/editors-letter-fight-long-covid-denial-by-becoming-a-supporter-of-the-sick-times/): Before I started working at The Sick Times as your friendly neighborhood engagement editor, I let every medical professional I met bulldoze me.
- [Wastewater testing is vital for public health. It needs sustained funding to continue beyond fall 2026.](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/06/30/wastewater-testing-is-vital-for-public-health-it-needs-sustained-funding-to-continue-beyond-fall-2026/): Public health organizations are calling for Congress to fund the CDC’s wastewater surveillance program — which tracks COVID-19 and other diseases — in its 2027 budget, while state health departments plan ahead for potential gaps in grants.
- [Research updates, June 30](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/06/30/research-updates-june-30/): A recent imaging study in Sage Journals identified metabolic dysfunction in the brains of people with Long COVID who experience PEM. The study assessed 40 people with the disease from a Long COVID clinic with an advanced imaging technique that can detect various cancers and neurologic conditions.
- [National COVID-19 trends, June 30](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/06/30/national-covid-19-trends-june-30/): As of mid-June, a summer COVID-19 wave appears to be slowly starting in parts of the Southern U.S. Disease levels are still low across most of the country, though — as best as we can tell from wastewater and PCR testing data — and it may be a few weeks before we see recent increases grow into a broader surge.
- [Will the new COVID-19 antiviral be accessible?](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/06/29/will-the-new-covid-19-antiviral-be-accessible/): In June, the Food and Drug Administration approved the drug Xocova (ensitrelvir) as the very first post-exposure prophylaxis for Sars-CoV-2, and if taken within 72 hours, it could stop a SARS-CoV-2 infection in its tracks. The drug is also being studied as a potential Long COVID treatment and even maybe as a preventative. But how accessible will this drug be?
- [I worked in homeless services for years. It didn’t help me find accessible housing when I got Long COVID.](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/06/26/i-worked-in-homeless-services-for-years-it-didnt-help-me-find-accessible-housing-when-i-got-long-covid/): The 1988 amendments to the Fair Housing Act were supposed to address inaccessibility in housing by requiring buildings constructed after 1991 to meet certain accessibility requirements. In practice, however, less than 1% of the nation’s housing stock was fully wheelchair accessible as of 2022, most of it financially out of reach to people with disabilities, who often cannot afford the high prices.
- [FDA approves COVID-19 antiviral Xocova as PEP. But will it be accessible?](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/06/23/fda-approves-covid-19-antiviral-xocova-as-pep-but-will-it-be-accessible/): Shionogi, the Japanese company that makes Xocova (ensitrelvir), said the post-exposure prophylaxis drug will be available in mid-July in the U.S. and will have a list price of $1,400. But its impact will hinge on how easily people can access it, experts say.
- [Research updates, June 23](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/06/23/research-updates-june-23/): A new study found that people with Long COVID were significantly more likely to experience cardiovascular disease after COVID-19. Published in Clinical Medicine Insights: Cardiology, researchers assessed a retrospective cohort of over 8,000 people who had a prior SARS-CoV-2 infection, discovering that Long COVID symptoms were associated with higher odds of cardiovascular disease, particularly angina and heart attacks, compared to people without Long COVID.
- [National COVID-19 trends, June 23](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/06/23/national-covid-19-trends-june-23/): COVID-19 levels remain very low across much of the U.S. as a deep lull between waves continues — at least, as far as we can tell from viral levels in wastewater, which do not translate directly to infections. However, there are accumulating signals that a summer wave may start soon, particularly in parts of the South.
- [The U.K.’s plan for ME has failed us. Members of parliament must step up.](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/06/19/the-u-k-s-plan-for-me-has-failed-us-members-of-parliament-must-step-up/): No ring-fenced research funding. No care pathway for the very severe. Hospitalized patients still at risk of malnutrition. What has the delivery plan really changed for people with myalgic encephalomyelitis in the United Kingdom?
- [How is Minnesota addressing Long COVID?](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/06/16/how-is-minnesota-addressing-long-covid/): As many governments shutter and defund their Long COVID programs, Minnesota is ramping up.
- [Research updates, June 16](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/06/16/research-updates-june-16/): Two recent studies have added more evidence that the diabetes drug metformin can reduce the risk of Long COVID.
- [We must free Long COVID and the people living with it from the mind-body trap](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/06/12/we-must-free-long-covid-and-the-people-living-with-it-from-the-mind-body-trap/): There is a recurring pattern in the history of medicine that still pops up from time to time. When our understanding of a disease lags far behind the need for explanations, biology becomes a matter of one’s own perception. This inevitably shifts the burden of proof back onto the people we should be helping; those who suffer with the disease. A recent essay on Long COVID published in WIRED magazine leans into this familiar trope, reframing the condition as a matter of unrealistic expectations.
- [Work until you disappear: Long COVID ensnared me in an exploitative health system](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/06/16/work-until-you-disappear-long-covid-ensnared-me-in-an-exploitative-health-system/): The disease emphasizes the racism and ableism of the public health sector in Germany. People with disabilities and chronic illnesses must be prioritized over profits.
- [National COVID-19 trends, June 16](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/06/16/national-covid-19-trends-june-16/): The U.S.’s low lull in COVID-19 spread continues. Disease levels in wastewater and healthcare data remain very low through early June. While there are possible increases in some places, particularly in the Midwest and South, it’s unclear if a summer wave — which we’ve seen every year since the pandemic began — is starting soon. Meanwhile, World Cup matches in several major cities may pose new disease threats.
- [Every social justice movement is impacted by the Long COVID crisis](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/06/09/every-social-justice-movement-is-impacted-by-the-long-covid-crisis/): Long COVID disrupts struggles for justice, as activists and organizers with the disease are forced to suspend or change their tactics, facing a community that largely ignores COVID precautions.
- [Research updates, June 9](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/06/09/research-updates-june-9/): A new study published in Alzheimer’s and Dementia found more evidence of alterations associated with Alzheimer’s disease in people with Long COVID. Notably, scientists identified a larger choroid plexus, a region of blood vessels in the brain, as well as reduced cerebral blood flow.
- [National COVID-19 trends, June 9](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/06/09/national-covid-19-trends-june-9/): National COVID-19 estimates have remained very low in the U.S. through the end of May. There are signals of potential increases in some locations, but it’s hard to say if these represent isolated outbreaks or the start of a summer wave. Meanwhile, future funding for wastewater surveillance is under threat.
- [RECOVER’s first round of clinical trials are failing. Will the next phase be better?](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/05/12/recovers-first-round-of-clinical-trials-are-failing-will-the-next-phase-be-better/): The NIH studies found that Paxlovid, ivabradine, and computer games did not significantly improve symptoms of Long COVID. Further analysis that may help future research research has not yet been released.
- [Indie bookstores promoting masking and COVID-19 consciousness in 2026](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/06/05/indie-bookstores-promoting-masking-and-covid-19-consciousness-in-2026/): The trajectory of COVID-19 awareness may not go exactly as many expect, and in the meantime, bookstores are one of the community spaces that can offer a transition point to a different possible future.
- [What is the link between climate change and chronic illness?](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/05/18/what-is-the-link-between-climate-change-and-chronic-illness/): What happens when your body and the climate break down at the same time? In this episode, Still Here co-host Miles Griffis talks to Lorraine Boissoneault, science journalist and Sick Times contributor, about her new book, Body Weather: Notes on Chronic Illness in the Anthropocene. Lorraine shares how she came to see the links between
- [How can we eat when we’re too sick to cook?](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/06/04/how-can-we-eat-when-were-too-sick-to-cook/): In this episode, Miles Griffis talks to writer and artist Aisha Mirza, founder of misery collective and author of misery meals: a crip community anti-cookbook for when eating and cooking is hard. Miles and Aisha discuss the book, how Aisha went from an anti-foodie to a cookbook author, and what it looks like to be in community even from the solitude of your own home.
- [Research ethics boards need urgent training on Long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/06/02/research-ethics-boards-need-urgent-training-on-long-covid-and-myalgic-encephalomyelitis/): Last year, researchers in Ontario, Canada started recruiting participants for a Long COVID trial testing the feasibility of exercise and rehabilitation. Like many other studies of exercise, it doesn’t use validated measures for post-exertional malaise (PEM). But the Pursuing Reduction in Fatigue After COVID-19 via Exercise and Rehabilitation (PREFACER) study, run by researchers at Western University, stands out because it involves deceiving participants — undermining informed consent and potentially violating Canadian ethical research standards.
- [Research updates, June 2](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/06/02/research-updates-june-2/): The COVID-19 antiviral ensitrelvir (Xocova), was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The oral drug was approved as PEP, or post-exposure prophylaxis, meaning it is taken within 72 hours after coming in contact with someone who has COVID-19.
- [A test for Long COVID can’t leave anyone behind](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/05/08/a-test-for-long-covid-cant-leave-anyone-behind/): A test for Long COVID will be transformative, and we should start preparing for its arrival now.
- [Research updates, May 12](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/05/12/research-updates-may-12/): A new study linked ongoing endothelial dysfunction in people with Long COVID with neuropsychiatric symptoms. The study, published in Brain, Behavior, & Immunity, included 50 participants with Long COVID, comparing them to “recovered” controls and people with acute COVID-19. They found a significant elevation of biomarkers related to the inner lining of blood vessels, “which
- [Breaking the vicious cycle: How two German scientists seek to solve ME](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/05/14/breaking-the-vicious-cycle-how-two-german-scientists-seek-to-solve-me/): A “unifying” hypothesis of the mechanisms, triggers, and risk factors for myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), is gaining support. Further evaluation and development of a potential drug depend on funding.
- [Research updates, May 19](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/05/19/research-updates-may-19/): The antiviral ensitrelvir was found to prevent COVID-19 in people exposed to COVID-positive individuals. The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine and included over 2,000 participants who took the treatment pill or a placebo. Researchers found that the drug cut the risk of COVID-19 by two-thirds for household members when taken
- [A toolkit for new advocates: What I learned from the Long COVID Moonshot campaign](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/05/19/a-toolkit-for-new-advocates-what-i-learned-from-the-long-covid-moonshot-campaign/): While the multi-billion dollar Long COVID Moonshot bill is currently stalled, advocates learned many important lessons that the community must carry into future efforts.
- [National COVID-19 trends, June 2](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/06/02/national-covid-19-trends-june-2/): A record-breaking COVID-19 lull has continued in the U.S. through late May. The latest national estimates for SARS-CoV-2 spread are the lowest they have been since spring 2021. While there are signs of possible case increases in some locations, these are preliminary and difficult to interpret.
- [Why are RECOVER's first round of Long COVID clinical trials failing?](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/06/02/why-are-recovers-first-round-of-long-covid-clinical-trials-failing/): The U.S.'s flagship Long COVID research program has received over a billion dollars in funding and had years of input from people with the disease. But its first round of clinical trials are failing, at least in the results out so far.
- [PolyBio’s Spring 2026 symposium: Advancing Long COVID biomarkers and treatments](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/05/29/polybios-spring-2026-symposium-advancing-long-covid-biomarkers-and-treatments/): The PolyBio Research Foundation recently announced new initiatives and centered biomarkers during their latest virtual conference.
- [Research updates, May 26](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/05/26/research-updates-may-26/): A new preprint linked Long COVID symptom severity with higher DNA levels of the herpesvirus HHV6. The study enrolled 45 people with Long COVID, comparing them with matched controls. Participants self-collected saliva at specific time points over two days and completed detailed questionnaires. Further study of the viruses in saliva may help identify new subsets
- [International ME/CFS Conference roundup: Setbacks and new hopes for therapeutic research](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/05/26/international-me-cfs-conference-roundup-setbacks-and-new-hopes-for-therapeutic-research/): More than 50 experts from around the world presented the latest findings in basic and therapeutic research on myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and Long COVID at a conference in Berlin.
- [New AI tools are helping some people manage Long COVID](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/12/23/new-ai-tools-are-helping-some-people-manage-long-covid/): RTHM and TurnTo recently debuted Long COVID intelligence platforms. Some have found them helpful, but others are concerned about AI.
- [National COVID-19 trends, May 26](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/05/26/national-covid-19-trends-may-26/): In recent weeks, U.S. COVID-19 metrics have remained very low, with wastewater surveillance providers reporting their lowest national averages in several years. However, the most recent data suggest the lull may come to an end soon, as cases may be starting to increase in parts of the South.
- [Invisible defenses: A guide for cleaner indoor air](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/12/24/invisible-defenses-a-guide-for-cleaner-indoor-air/): What if the air in your home could act as a silent shield against illness? Responding to the ongoing risks of COVID-19 and other airborne pathogens, many people have taken measures to improve the air in their homes and other spaces. With so many options, from do-it-yourself (DIY) filters to high-end HEPA machines, how do you determine what's right for your space?
- [Mold exposure can trigger and worsen chronic illness. Climate change will increase the risk.](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/05/21/mold-exposure-can-trigger-and-worsen-chronic-illness-climate-change-will-increase-the-risk/): Almost half of buildings in the U.S. have mold or dampness, which can cause respiratory symptoms and may even trigger diseases like myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME).
- [Research updates, May 5](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/05/05/research-updates-may-5/): A specific formula of probiotics and bacteria was found to improve fatigue and other symptoms in people with Long COVID. Researchers shared the abstract, which has not been published yet, at the Digestive Disease Week meeting in Chicago, Illinois.
- [The history of ME deserves a late-night spotlight. That's why we started the #JohnVsJonVsME campaign.](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/03/31/the-history-of-me-deserves-a-late-night-spotlight-thats-why-we-started-the-johnvsjonvsme-campaign/): In a crisis-filled world, breaking through the noise requires creativity, strategy — and, occasionally, a really good meme. This is precisely why the #JohnVsJonVsME campaign began.
- [“People are dying because of the stigma”: Long COVID’s global underreporting problem](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/04/30/people-are-dying-because-of-the-stigma-long-covids-global-underreporting-problem/): Hosts Miles Griffis and Betsy Ladyzhets speak with health journalist Jamie Ducharme about why Long COVID is dramatically underreported globally, and hear from South African advocate Mlindeni Gabela about fighting for diagnosis and breaking stigma in his community.
- [How do we track COVID-19 in 2026?](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/05/12/how-do-we-track-covid-19-in-2026/): As one of the last newsrooms still reporting on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we get a lot of questions about how we track the SARS-CoV-2 virus, from whether or not to trust CDC data to how wastewater data monitoring works. To answer those questions and assist in finding and interpreting data on COVID-19 and other
- [Thousands “lie in” for German ME protests](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/05/12/thousands-lie-in-for-german-me-protests/): The demonstrations, organized by the group #LiegendDemo, took place in 42 cities across the country. Advocates demanded an end to “psychosomatic treatment of ME,” mandatory training for medical professionals, and large scale public health campaigns, and more. To mark International Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) Awareness Day, advocates participated in marches and “lie in” protests in 42
- ["Not Recovered" protest for Long COVID, ME, and related diseases takes over The Hague](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/12/02/not-recovered-protest-for-long-covid-me-and-related-diseases-takes-over-the-hague/): Demonstrations for post-acute infection syndromes including Long COVID, Lyme, and myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) took place on November 30 in The Hague, Netherlands as a part of the #HetPAISProtest led by the group #NietHersteld (Not Recovered).
- [A “muddy intervention”: The complex reality of taVNS therapy for Long COVID](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/04/21/a-muddy-intervention-the-complex-reality-of-tavns-therapy-for-long-covid/): People are experimenting with transauricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS), with mixed results, ahead of medical guidelines
- [Emma Raducanu has post-viral syndrome. And commentators are giving her terrible advice.](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/04/28/professional-tennis-player-emma-raducanu-has-post-viral-syndrome-and-commentators-are-giving-her-terrible-advice/): Many viruses can trigger chronic diseases. So far, Raducanu has shared limited details on her illness.
- [COVID-19 spreads year round. Here's how to track it.](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/05/05/covid-19-spreads-year-round-heres-how-to-track-it/): Our webinar answered common questions about following data for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.
- [Long COVID advocates demand biological research at a conference in Paris](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/05/05/long-covid-advocates-demand-biological-research-at-a-conference-in-paris/): We spoke with the two organizations behind the viral moment where advocates interrupted speakers at the Long COVID EU Project event.
- [National COVID-19 trends, May 5](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/05/05/national-covid-19-trends-may-5/): A historic COVID-19 lull in the U.S. has continued through late April. Disease levels in wastewater and as measured by the healthcare system are at their lowest in several years; I’m surprised to see this considering the continued lack of widespread health measures. BA.3.2 (or “Cicada”) remains on the horizon but doesn’t appear to be having a widespread impact yet.
- [Research updates, April 28](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/04/28/research-updates-april-28/): The written memorials of over 500 people who had myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) were analyzed in a new study in PLoS One. Researchers found themes of clinical neglect and broad institutional failure, among others.
- [National COVID-19 trends, April 28](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/04/28/national-covid-19-trends-april-28/): The U.S. is still in a lull between COVID-19 waves, as of mid-April, and the latest data indicate the lowest levels in a couple of years — maybe the lowest possible without more widespread precautions. BA.3.2 (or “Cicada”) is still on the horizon, but having limited impacts on U.S. cases so far.
- [We need masks in healthcare. Now.](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/04/24/we-need-masks-in-healthcare-now/): As a person with Long COVID, losing consciousness was a terrifying experience made worse by a potential exposure risk. I quickly put my mask back on and thankfully managed to escape unscathed. But this experience reinforced how much power healthcare providers have over those in their care.
- [Research updates, April 21](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/04/21/research-updates-april-21/): A new RECOVER study found that Long COVID significantly impacts the development of children with the disease. The study was published in Academic Pediatrics and included nearly 2,000 children.
- [National COVID-19 trends, April 21](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/04/21/national-covid-19-trends-april-21/): COVID-19 levels continue to be on the lower end throughout most of the U.S., as we remain in a lull between waves. Variant trackers are closely following the lineage BA.3.2 (or “Cicada”); while it seems to not be driving widespread outbreaks yet, data are limited.
- [I developed Long COVID while practicing medicine. The system had no place for me.](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/04/17/i-developed-long-covid-while-practicing-medicine-the-system-had-no-place-for-me/): I was three hours into my internal medicine ward call when the brain fog descended like a curtain dropping mid-performance.
- [Long COVID advocacy is incomplete without sex workers](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/01/06/long-covid-advocacy-is-incomplete-without-sex-workers/): To Olive and other Black queer community members, many Long COVID advocates pay lip service to the disease’s disproportionate effects on Black, Brown, and trans communities while excluding those voices from larger policy discussions.
- [Research updates, April 14](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/04/14/research-updates-april-14/): A new report found that Long COVID may cost OECD international economies over $135 billion per year over the next decade. And even this number may be an undercount, the authors stated.
- [National COVID-19 trends, April 14](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/04/14/national-covid-19-trends-april-14/): COVID-19 levels remain low to moderate across most of the U.S. as of early April, as we are in a lull between surges. Data trackers are closely watching the BA.3.2 variant (also called “Cicada”); it may be driving outbreaks in select locations, but is not causing major increases yet.
- [Event announcement: COVID-19 spreads year round. Here’s how to track it.](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/04/14/event-announcement-covid-19-spreads-year-round-heres-how-to-track-it/): This free webinar on April 28 will help you find data on COVID-19 and other pathogens in your area, and interpret those data to inform safety measures for you and your community.
- [Long COVID is significantly underreported across the globe](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/04/14/long-covid-is-significantly-underreported-across-the-globe/): Long COVID, which has affected more than 400 million people around the world, is often underreported, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
- [Alice Wong showed us Disability Justice makes our advocacy stronger](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/04/10/alice-wong-showed-us-disability-justice-makes-our-advocacy-stronger/): With her #PodSaveJon campaign, she helped deliver one of the Long COVID movement’s best moments.
- [I moved into a tiny home in the woods after getting Long COVID.](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/04/07/i-moved-into-a-tiny-home-in-the-woods-after-getting-long-covid/): I’m writing at my kitchen counter in a 160-square-foot tiny house overlooking a stand of tall, regal pines laden with snow. The wood stove is going. A whiteboard is on the wall, listing daily chores like “chop wood” and “shovel driveway.” There’s also a quote from Dean Spade in red that says, “No one is coming to save us.”
- ["The Way Disabled People Love Each Other": In conversation with Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarsinha](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/04/10/the-way-disabled-people-love-each-other-in-conversation-with-leah-lakshmi-piepzna-samarsinha/): What can love look like when you’re disabled — and how do you write about grief when the crisis is still ongoing? In this episode of Still Here, hosts Miles Griffis and Betsy Ladyzhets sit down with poet, author, and disability justice organizer Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarsinha to discuss their new poetry collection, The Way Disabled People Love Each Other.
- [Research updates, April 7](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/04/07/research-updates-april-7/): A clinical trial for non-invasive vagal nerve stimulation failed in improving fatigue in Long COVID. 45 participants used a specific transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) device, or a sham (placebo), during the four-week trial.
- [Two Long COVID short films premiere at the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/04/07/two-long-covid-short-films-premiere-at-the-easterseals-disability-film-challenge/): The 13th annual Easterseals Disability Film Challenge features two new short films about Long COVID. For the competition, filmmaking teams were tasked with creating a one to five minute film to promote disability inclusion in the entertainment industry.
- [National COVID-19 trends, April 7](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/04/07/national-covid-19-trends-april-7/): Here are the latest national COVID-19 trends, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and major wastewater surveillance providers: About 0.7 in every 100,000 people were hospitalized for COVID-19 during the week ending March 28. COVID-19 test positivity decreased slightly, from 2.3% of COVID-19 tests returning positive results during the week
- [A new aid in the doctor’s office: Introducing the Long COVID Treatment Guide](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/03/12/a-new-aid-in-the-doctors-office-introducing-the-long-covid-treatment-guide/): Too often, people with Long COVID hear that since clinical research is still underway, not much can be done for them at this point. We at the Patient-Led Research Collaborative and RTHM Clinic reject this narrative. We collaborated to create a treatment guide.
- [“Not a whole lot of substance”: HHS posts Long COVID website, six months after making big promises](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/03/31/not-a-whole-lot-of-substance-hhs-posts-long-covid-website-six-months-after-making-big-promises/): New website receives mixed reviews from Long COVID advocates and researchers; some do not expect to see any meaningful support from the Trump administration.
- [What is the federal government currently doing about Long COVID?](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/04/03/what-is-the-federal-government-currently-doing-about-long-covid/): In this episode of Still Here, hosts Betsy Ladyzhets and Miles Griffis talk about the latest updates from the US Department of Health and Human Services and their efforts on Long COVID, as well as the criticisms they face from members of the community. Subscribe to Still Here wherever you get your podcasts, and leave us a review, telling us what you think of this episode.
- [U.S. scientists sequence 1,000 genomes from measles, a disease long eliminated with vaccines](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/04/03/u-s-scientists-sequence-1000-genomes-from-measles-a-disease-long-eliminated-with-vaccines/): This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted online its first large tranche of advanced genetic data from measles viruses spreading last year. Scientists with knowledge of the operation expect the agency to post heaps more in weeks to come, revealing whether the U.S. has lost its hard-won measles elimination status.
- [Research updates, March 31](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/03/31/research-updates-march-31/): The heart failure drug Ivabradine did not significantly improve symptoms for people with Long COVID and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), according to preliminary results that RECOVER researchers recently shared at a conference.
- [HHS hosts event and announces new initiatives for Lyme disease, but advocates are skeptical about follow-through](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/12/16/hhs-hosts-event-and-announces-new-initiatives-for-lyme-disease-but-advocates-are-skeptical-about-follow-through/): The Lyme disease roundtable followed a similar event on Long COVID, which still hasn’t led to action on the disease
- [National COVID-19 trends, March 31](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/03/31/national-covid-19-trends-march-31/): COVID-19 levels are relatively low across much of the U.S. as of late March — about as low as we generally see in plateaus between surges at this point in the pandemic, but still higher than what would be possible if widespread health precautions were still in place. Meanwhile, experts are monitoring a newer variant, BA.3.2, that will likely contribute to the next spike in cases.
- [California clinicians gather for Long COVID forum. Recent guides offer direction.](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/03/30/california-clinicians-gather-for-long-covid-forum-recent-guides-offer-direction/): Clinicians and people with Long COVID gathered in Santa Barbara, California, in late March for a forum on advancing clinical care in infection-associated chronic conditions.
- [Long COVID Awareness Day 2026: Inside the growing organizing efforts to recognize the disease](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/03/27/long-covid-awareness-day-2026-inside-the-growing-organizing-efforts-to-recognize-the-disease/): Long COVID Awareness Day is gaining official recognition around the world, driven by a growing network of people with Long COVID and their allies. In our season two premiere of Still Here, hosts Betsy Ladyzhets and Miles Griffis talk to Nicholas Rodelo of Clean Air Los Angeles about how he and his fellow organizers secured a City Council resolution recognizing Long COVID Awareness Day, and how they hope to leverage that into further action.
- [Marcia: Life with severe ME is like screaming into the void](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/03/20/marcia-life-with-severe-me-is-like-screaming-into-the-void/): Begging for my life on the internet, staying alive month to month on donations from strangers, attempting to get a foothold of logic in policies and ways of thinking that are entrenched in illogical bias: these rob hope of its strength. And when you’re approved for Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) on quality of life, despair is an easy thing to teeter into.
- [“It felt like a life-or-death choice”: Pregnancy with Long COVID has many unknowns](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/03/24/it-felt-like-a-life-or-death-choice-pregnancy-with-long-covid-has-many-unknowns/): Little is known so far about how people with Long COVID experience pregnancy, but some insights can be gleaned from myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) as well as several ongoing studies in this area.
- [Research updates, March 24](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/03/24/research-updates-march-24/): More than 150,000 deaths from COVID-19 went uncounted in the U.S. in the first two years of the pandemic, according to a new study in Science Advances. Researchers used machine learning to evaluate death certificates from March 2020 to December 2021, and estimated that 19% more COVID-19 deaths occurred than originally reported.
- [National COVID-19 trends, March 24](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/03/24/national-covid-19-trends-march-24/): The U.S.’s long winter COVID-19 wave is slowly coming to an end: all major metrics report declines or plateaus in SARS-CoV-2 spread across the country as of mid-March. Flu and RSV cases are declining, too.
- [Austin recognizes Long COVID Awareness Day, events happen around the world](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/03/17/austin-recognizes-long-covid-awareness-day-events-happen-around-the-world/): Around the world, people with Long COVID recognized International Long COVID Awareness Day with events, demonstrations, and buildings lit up in teal. Austin, Texas, is the latest city to recognize the day, through a proclamation from the Austin city council — a major step in the state.
- [Los Angeles recognizes Long COVID Awareness Day](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/02/25/los-angeles-recognizes-long-covid-awareness-day/): Local advocates pushed America’s second largest city to formally observe the day on March 15.
- [National COVID-19 trends, March 17](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/03/17/national-covid-19-trends-march-17/): National COVID-19 metrics continue to decline in the U.S., but they are moving slowly. This winter’s wave continues to reach into the spring. Flu indicators are also continuing to decline, while RSV levels are higher but may have peaked for this season.
- [Research updates, March 17](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/03/17/research-updates-march-17/): Two recent prevalence studies showed the impact of Long COVID on Americans. The first, an electronic cohort study of over 600,000 active military personnel, found that 42% had at least one symptom more than 30 days after contracting COVID-19.
- [National COVID-19 trends, March 10](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/03/10/national-covid-19-trends-march-10/): After several weeks of little change in national COVID-19 levels, metrics are now trending down more definitively. This winter’s COVID-19 wave may have peaked at a lower point than we’ve seen in prior years, but it’s been a long one. And months of moderate-to-high viral spread add up in causing severe disease and new Long COVID cases.
- [My child and I both have Long COVID. Even in COVID-aware spaces, we are excluded because of their pre-existing disability.](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/03/07/my-child-and-i-both-have-long-covid-even-in-covid-aware-spaces-we-are-excluded-because-of-their-pre-existing-disability/): I watch through the window as the seasons change, spring to summer. The heat permeates, the neighbor kids run and play. Sprinklers soaking their bodies as they dance in glee. My ten-year-old child, J, sits stimming, gleefully twisting at the waist from side to side, as their hair blows in the breeze, trying to sign.
- [Where have all the Long COVID clinics gone?](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/03/10/where-have-all-the-long-covid-clinics-gone/): A nationwide survey reveals the uncertain state of specialized care for Americans living with the chronic disease
- [Research updates, March 10](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/03/10/research-updates-march-10/): A large retrospective cohort study found significant healthcare cost increases for Long COVID over five years. The study was shared as a preprint in medRxiv and included the records of over 143,000 people.
- [Two new books help children understand how Long COVID impacts their family members](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/03/04/two-new-books-help-children-understand-how-long-covid-impacts-their-family-members/): Author and educator Sara Robitaille seeks to raise awareness and educate kids with her two new children's books, Long COVID Transformed My Mommy and Long COVID Transformed My Sister into a Turtle.
- [Research updates, March 3](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/03/03/research-updates-march-3/): Researchers identified high levels of cytokine interferon gamma (IFN-γ) in white blood cells as a potential biomarker for Long COVID. The small study, published in Science Advances, found that symptoms improved when production of IFN-γ (a molecule that plays an important role in immune response) decreased.
- [National COVID-19 trends, March 3](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/03/03/national-covid-19-trends-march-3/): The COVID-19 picture in the U.S. hasn’t changed much over the last month: national disease levels are declining, but very slowly, as some parts of the country (particularly in the Midwest and South) remain disease hotspots even as we head into the spring.
- [Comic: Reasons to wear a mask in 2026](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/02/27/comic-reasons-to-wear-a-mask-in-2026/): Artist Gillian Levine recently wrote and illustrated a comic sharing reasons to continue masking in 2026.
- [Research updates, February 24](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/02/24/research-updates-february-24/): SARS-C0V-2 reinfections significantly increase the risk of Long COVID in children, a new National Institutes of Health (NIH) RECOVER study found.
- [How to write an op-ed about Long COVID](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/02/24/how-to-write-an-op-ed-about-long-covid/): Op-eds, sometimes known as opinion or commentary, have been powerful in raising awareness and providing solutions for Long COVID, from early reports of the disease to calls to action that have inspired legislation.
- [National COVID-19 trends, February 24](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/02/24/national-covid-19-trends-february-24/): The U.S.’s long winter of airborne virus spread continues. COVID-19 is still spreading at higher levels in some parts of the country, particularly in the Midwest, and may be increasing further in other regions. Flu remains at high levels, too, as the influenza B strain continues to rise.
- [Six years in, mental health care providers are still uninformed on Long COVID. And it’s making the crisis worse.](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/02/24/six-years-in-mental-health-care-providers-are-still-uninformed-on-long-covid-and-its-making-the-crisis-worse/): Six years into the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many people living with Long COVID still aren’t getting the mental health support they need.
- [These artists are making concerts safer with COVID-19 precautions](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/02/17/these-artists-are-making-concerts-safer-with-covid-19-precautions/): While most of the music industry has “moved on,” COVID-conscious performers have been working to prevent their shows from being superspreaders.
- [Research updates, February 17](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/02/17/research-updates-february-17/): A new review in Dovepress states that Long COVID, myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) should be classified as neuroimmune disorders.
- [Sophia Yau-Weeks’ new single, “Nobody’s Laughing,” grapples with the isolation of Long COVID](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/02/17/sophia-yau-weeks-new-single-nobodys-laughing-grapples-with-the-isolation-of-long-covid/): On her 26th birthday, for the first time in her life, Sophia Yau-Weeks found herself alone on her birthday. A 2023 SARS-CoV-2 infection left her immunocompromised, and her ensuing COVID-19 safety precautions left her without COVID-conscious friends to celebrate with.
- [National COVID-19 trends, February 17](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/02/17/national-covid-19-trends-february-17/): Both COVID-19 and the seasonal flu have been spreading at higher levels in the U.S. for months now, and that trend is likely to continue with both pathogens for several more weeks. While national COVID-19 metrics are stable or slowly declining, the disease is increasing in concentration in some parts of the country as it decreases in others.
- [“Invisible Illness” could have been transgressive. Instead, it minimizes Long COVID.](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/02/13/invisible-illness-could-have-been-transgressive-instead-it-minimizes-long-covid/): The book fails to convey the severity of infection-associated chronic conditions, demands for treatment, or importance of infection prevention.
- [Research updates, February 10](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/02/10/research-updates-february-10/): A large study recently connected “chronic absenteeism” to pediatric Long COVID, further disproving the “immunity debt” talking points from pundits earlier in the pandemic.
- [Winter Olympic athletes are rightfully taking COVID-19 precautions](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/02/10/winter-olympic-athletes-are-rightfully-taking-covid-19-precautions/): Despite a lack of COVID-19 precautions implemented by the 2026 Winter Olympics organizers in Italy, some athletes, teams, and their loved ones are protecting themselves from airborne pathogens by masking and isolating.
- [National COVID-19 trends, February 10](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/02/10/national-covid-19-trends-february-10/): The U.S.’s long winter COVID-19 wave continues. Major national metrics are at plateaus as of late January, as disease levels increase in some regions and decrease in others. In better news, flu levels are declining again, after an uptick last week.
- [Event announcement: The Long COVID op-ed](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/02/10/event-announcement-the-long-covid-op-ed/): Help break the stigma around Long COVID by sharing your story with the public. In this free webinar on February 19, The Sick Times editors and guest speakers will demystify the process of writing and pitching op-eds and essays on Long COVID.
- [Maryland considers Long COVID innovation bill](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/02/06/maryland-considers-long-covid-innovation-bill/): Maryland may soon become the first U.S. state to directly support Long COVID research and development. The state’s government is considering a bill that would establish a grant and loan program dedicated to the disease, potentially funding scientists and start-ups based in Maryland.
- [Snapshots of the unseen: How we focused Long COVID in a recent photo exhibition](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/02/02/snapshots-of-the-unseen-how-we-focused-long-covid-in-a-recent-photo-exhibit/): Art offers a way to translate lived experience into shared understanding. Some of these efforts are already in progress: in October 2025, my research team launched a photo exhibition called Living with Long COVID at the Museum of Vancouver.
- [Long COVID affects millions of children. The largest pediatric trial so far launches this year.](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/02/03/long-covid-affects-millions-of-children-the-largest-pediatric-trial-so-far-launches-this-year/): One NIH study will test low-dose naltrexone, while other upcoming trials will test larozitide and taurine.
- [Research updates, February 3](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/02/03/research-updates-february-3/): The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted expanded access to the stem cell infusion RegeneCyte for Long COVID.
- [National COVID-19 trends, February 3](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/02/03/national-covid-19-trends-february-3/): COVID-19 levels are going up in parts of the South, West, and possibly the Midwest, while continuing to decline elsewhere. Trends suggest we may be in for a second round of this winter’s COVID-19 wave after the initial peak in early January. Flu levels increased this week, too, likely due to more influenza B spread.
- [Research updates, January 27](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/01/27/research-updates-january-27/): A large prospective cohort study published in Infectious Diseases found that a majority of people with Long COVID did not recover.
- [National COVID-19 trends, January 27](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/01/27/national-covid-19-trends-january-27/): Several national COVID-19 metrics have now reported two weeks of declines, suggesting we have passed the peak of this winter’s wave — but higher disease levels may continue for many more weeks.
- [Metrodora promised comprehensive treatment. But within two years, it abruptly closed.](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/01/27/metrodora-promised-comprehensive-treatment-but-within-two-years-it-abruptly-closed/): The clinic sought to cure “neuroimmune disorders” like Long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis. Former patients feel betrayed.
- [New RECOVER-TLC trials won’t enroll until summer. Nearly two years after the program’s launch.](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/01/23/new-recover-tlc-trials-wont-enroll-until-summer-nearly-two-years-after-the-programs-launch/): The RECOVER-Treating Long COVID initiative is set to begin enrolling participants in new clinical trials this summer, which will mark nearly two years after the National of Institutes of Health (NIH) effort launched with promises to deliver greater urgency for this chronic disease impacting tens of millions of Americans.
- [Drawing the elephant: Nine artists illustrating Long COVID and the ongoing pandemic](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/01/16/drawing-the-elephant-nine-artists-illustrating-long-covid-and-the-ongoing-pandemic/): Illustrators who bravely explore the ongoing pandemic in their work break down stereotypes, contextualize differing experiences, build community, and raise awareness. These artists create spaces where audiences can reflect and engage with stories that can broaden our understanding of ourselves and the world.
- [National COVID-19 trends, January 20](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/01/20/national-covid-19-trends-january-20/): The COVID-19 trends surprised me this week: several major national metrics are trending down, despite not yet reaching high levels comparable to what we typically see at the peaks of surges. This could be good news, but tread with caution; these data are preliminary, and SARS-CoV-2 is an unpredictable virus.
- [Research updates, January 20](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/01/20/research-updates-january-20/): A new study in eBioMedicine found neurological Long COVID symptoms were associated with increased pTau-181 levels, a marker of brain inflammation that has been tied to Alzheimer's disease.
- [The CDC just sidelined these childhood vaccines. Here’s what they prevent.](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/01/20/the-cdc-just-sidelined-these-childhood-vaccines-heres-what-they-prevent/): The federal government has drastically scaled back the number of recommended childhood immunizations, sidelining six routine vaccines that have safeguarded millions from serious diseases, long-term disability, and death.
- [National COVID-19 trends, January 13](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/01/13/national-covid-19-trends-january-13/): Our record-high flu season may have peaked in the U.S. as of early January, but levels of that disease remain very high while COVID-19 rates continue to increase across most of the country. This winter is shaping up to be a long one for airborne virus spread.
- [Severe people may hold answers to Long COVID. They must be included in research.](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/01/13/severe-people-may-hold-answers-to-long-covid-they-must-be-included-in-research/): People with the most severe symptoms represent the most clinically urgent population, yet they remain absent from the evidence base that guides care. Their exclusion is not a procedural oversight but a scientific failure, and correcting it is essential for any program committed to understanding the full spectrum of the disease.
- [Research updates, January 13](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/01/13/research-updates-january-13/): A large, electronic health records study published in JAMA Internal Medicine estimated that over 100,000 Americans died each year between 2022 and 2024 from COVID-19.
- [Composing the “Long COVID album”: An interview with Dave Ruder](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/01/12/composing-the-long-covid-album-an-interview-with-dave-ruder/): Last fall, Brooklyn-based musician Dave Ruder coined a new format when he released a “Long COVID album,” shaped by his experience with the disease.
- [Research updates, January 6](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/01/06/research-updates-january-6/): 43% of Latino people reported symptoms of Long COVID in a new survey study published in Journal of General Internal Medicine. The survey included the responses of 1,500 participants in Washington state who had confirmed COVID-19 cases between 2020 and 2022.
- [National COVID-19 trends, January 6](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/01/06/national-covid-19-trends-january-6/): COVID-19 levels are increasing across most of the U.S. as of late December. But the flu is overshadowing COVID-19 in healthcare system impacts and headlines: flu is having a record season, driven by a variant called H3N2.
- [Fundraiser results: Our work continues into 2026 with a new team member](https://thesicktimes.org/2026/01/06/fundraiser-results-our-work-continues-into-2026-with-a-new-team-member/): We are excited to share some good news as we start off 2026: The Sick Times had a successful end-of-year fundraiser! Thank you to everyone who donated, shared, gave us feedback, or otherwise contributed to our campaign.
- [Research updates, December 23](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/12/23/research-updates-december-23/): Two recent studies state that Long COVID is an occupational disease.
- [National COVID-19 trends, December 23](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/12/23/national-covid-19-trends-december-23/): COVID-19 spread continues to increase across the U.S. as we head into the most travel-and-gathering-heavy part of the year. Flu levels are also going up, more aggressively than COVID-19. The holidays often come with delays in infectious disease data updates, so keep in mind that COVID-19, as well as flu and other pathogens, may be more prevalent in your region than the most recent numbers suggest.
- [Telehealth is vital for people with Long COVID. Don’t let it disappear.](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/12/19/telehealth-is-vital-for-people-with-long-covid-dont-let-it-disappear/): Changes to telehealth policies are more than an inconvenience. For many of us, critical infrastructure is in jeopardy, and we urgently need government policy to protect it.
- [Leslie Lee III, culture critic and Long COVID advocate, dies at 43](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/12/04/leslie-lee-iii-culture-critic-and-long-covid-advocate-dies-at-43/): Leslie Lee III, an educator, critic, and Long COVID advocate, died on November 10. He was 43.
- [“Medically neglected” and “structurally erased”: International network appeals for ME advocate Nevra Elis](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/12/15/medically-neglected-and-structurally-erased-international-network-appeals-for-me-advocate-nevra-elis/): This fall, an international group of people known as Team Nevra has led an ongoing campaign to fundraise and help find care for Nevra Elis, an advocate living with severe myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME).
- [Research updates, December 16](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/12/16/research-updates-december-16/): A new observational study in Cureus found that veterans diagnosed with Long COVID had a 34% higher risk of visiting the emergency department (ED) six months following infection than those without Long COVID.
- [National COVID-19 trends, December 16](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/12/16/national-covid-19-trends-december-16/): After a couple of weeks of uneven increases, COVID-19 spread is now clearly going up in the U.S. across most major metrics and most regions. Since the latest data are from early December, COVID-19 levels are likely much higher now in many places.
- [Despite Long COVID’s ongoing impact, research in Colombia is limited](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/12/16/despite-long-covids-ongoing-impact-research-in-colombia-is-limited/): One of the few Long COVID research studies in Colombia is testing cognitive rehabilitation therapy. This approach recently failed in a U.S. clinical trial.
- [Doctors who refuse to engage with administrative work are abandoning their poorest and sickest patients](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/12/09/doctors-who-refuse-to-engage-with-administrative-work-are-abandoning-their-poorest-and-sickest-patients/): Having a Long COVID or ME doctor who is willing and available to engage with survival admin makes the difference between being able to access necessities and going without, and can be the only lifeline against neglect.
- [Research updates, December 9](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/12/09/research-updates-december-9/): A new study in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases examines how COVID-19 impacts the immune system.
- [National COVID-19 trends, December 9](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/12/09/national-covid-19-trends-december-9/): COVID-19 trends for the last week of November are similar to the rest of the month: disease levels are increasing in the Midwest and Northeast, but less so in the West and South. Our latest data include the Thanksgiving holiday, but not the full extent of outbreaks that followed it. Meanwhile, flu spread is accelerating faster than COVID-19 spread.
- [Research updates, December 2](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/12/02/research-updates-december-2/): A large retrospective cohort study of over 18,000 live births found that infants exposed to SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy were more likely to have adverse neurodevelopmental diagnoses by the time they were three years old.
- [The future of Medicaid is “really scary” for people with Long COVID](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/12/02/the-future-of-medicaid-is-really-scary-for-people-with-long-covid/): The deep cuts to Medicaid funding in the Trump administration’s spending bill of almost $1 trillion — as well as new requirements making Medicaid more difficult to obtain and maintain — will hit disadvantaged groups hard. For many with Long COVID, the cuts put their lives and well-being at risk.
- [National COVID-19 trends, December 2](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/12/02/national-covid-19-trends-december-2/): While all U.S. COVID-19 metrics remain at low-to-moderate levels as of mid-November, wastewater data show clear signs of this year’s winter wave getting started in the Northeast and Midwest. The latest data are from before Thanksgiving, and the increases are likely to continue as outbreaks from holiday travel and gatherings show up in our numbers.
- [Less than 20% of Long COVID trials involving exercise even mention post-exertional malaise](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/11/21/less-than-20-of-long-covid-trials-involving-exercise-even-mention-post-exertional-malaise/): An analysis by The Sick Times find that less than 15% of Long COVID clinical trials testing the benefits of exercise or cardiopulmonary rehabilitation measured post-exertional malaise, according to their trial registration, while a handful excluded participants who experience it.
- [You know someone with Long COVID. They need you to ask about it genuinely.](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/11/28/you-know-someone-with-long-covid-they-need-you-to-ask-about-it-genuinely/): If community-building is a bulwark against autocracy, then asking after one another might be a good place to start.
- [Alice Wong, disability activist and luminary, dies at 51](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/11/15/alice-wong-disability-activist-and-luminary-dies-at-51/): Alice Wong platformed and uplifted people with Long COVID in her final chapter as a lifelong disability advocate and storyteller.
- [International Long COVID conference spotlights biomarker and mechanism research](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/11/25/international-long-covid-conference-spotlights-biomarker-and-mechanism-research/): The event, now in its third year, also revealed updates about clinical trials and healthcare for the disease.
- [Research updates, November 25](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/11/25/research-updates-november-25/): A new review paper summarizes the vast global costs of Long COVID. Public health researcher Amit Bansal from the University of Bergen conducted an economic literature analysis and determined that Long COVID is estimated to have an average annual burden of at least $1 trillion globally each year.
- [National COVID-19 trends, November 25](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/11/25/national-covid-19-trends-november-25/): CDC data continue to come back online following the end of the government shutdown. Those data indicate that COVID-19 levels through mid-November remain much lower than what we see during surges, but are starting to increase in parts of the U.S.; different metrics disagree on which parts. More outbreaks are likely to follow the holiday this week, but it will be weeks before they show up in future data updates due to reporting lags.
- [Research updates, November 18](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/11/18/research-updates-november-18/): A new mechanistic study in Science Translational Medicine identifies Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) as a potential trigger of the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus.
- [National COVID-19 trends, November 18](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/11/18/national-covid-19-trends-november-18/): CDC infectious disease data are starting to resume updates as the government shutdown ended last week, but some metrics remain unavailable. The data we do have suggest that we’re at the start of the U.S.’s winter COVID-19 wave, with cases rising particularly in the Northeast and Midwest, as well as a flu season that might be worse than usual due to a variant of that virus.
- [Long COVID advocacy is more than lobbying Congress: Here are some ways to get involved](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/11/11/long-covid-advocacy-is-more-than-lobbying-congress-here-are-some-ways-to-get-involved/): People with infection associated chronic conditions (IACCs) use a broad range of strategies to fight for awareness and better care.
- [Research updates, November 11](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/11/11/research-updates-november-11/): The RECOVER-NEURO clinical trial found that “cognitive rehabilitation” failed in treating Long COVID. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) study included 328 people who underwent interventions of either online cognitive training (computer games), a cognitive rehabilitation program, or received electric currents on their heads.
- [National COVID-19 trends, November 11](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/11/11/national-covid-19-trends-november-11/): Our view into COVID-19 and other infectious diseases in the U.S. remains severely limited by the government shutdown. While the data we do have suggest that COVID-19 spread is low to moderate across much of the country, wastewater surveillance indicates that cases are starting to increase in the Northeast and Midwest. Flu and RSV cases are also picking up.
- [As the American West faces increasing air pollution, protecting the right to mask is vital](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/11/07/as-the-american-west-faces-increasing-air-pollution-protecting-the-right-to-mask-is-vital/): Utah’s proposed ban became an important case study demonstrating the overlapping concerns between airborne pathogens and environmental air pollution. It highlighted the necessity of building coalitions between environmental, health and disability, and civil liberties groups in resisting mask bans as climate change is on track to worsen a variety of environmental public health threats, not just in Utah but across the American West.
- [Business school competition centers Long COVID and IACCs](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/11/04/business-school-competition-centers-long-covid-and-iaccs/): At this case competition in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the winning team sought to better connect people with IACCs and healthcare providers who serve them.
- [Research updates, November 4](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/11/04/research-updates-november-4/): The German government is cutting millions of euros in Long COVID funding, according to the German business newspaper Handelsblatt.
- [National COVID-19 trends, November 4](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/11/04/national-covid-19-trends-november-4/): COVID-19 levels seem to be lower than usual for this time of year across much of the U.S. But that’s based on limited, inconsistent data, as we are now more than a month into a CDC data blackout caused by the government shutdown. That lack of data makes it harder to identify COVID-19 hotspots as we head into the holiday season, as well as other infectious diseases — RSV, in particular, is starting to spread in some places.
- [We need more at-home clinical trials for Long COVID. Here’s how we designed the largest one yet.](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/10/30/we-need-more-at-home-clinical-trials-for-long-covid-heres-how-we-designed-the-largest-one-yet/): We are now recruiting for the Long COVID Treatment Trial-Tirzepatide (LoCITT-T), which participants can complete entirely from bed.
- [Research updates, October 28](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/10/28/research-updates-october-28/): A small mechanistic study in Frontiers in Immunology analyzed chronic inflammation in COVID-19. Researchers assessed over 70,000 blood cells from eight participants across different disease states.
- [Metformin has been shown to reduce the risk of Long COVID. Why isn’t it more widely used?](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/10/28/metformin-has-been-shown-to-reduce-the-risk-of-long-covid-why-isnt-it-more-widely-used/): Recent studies add evidence to a prior phase 3 clinical trial, suggesting that taking the diabetes drug during acute COVID-19 reduces the risk of long-term symptoms.
- [National COVID-19 trends, October 28](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/10/28/national-covid-19-trends-october-28/): We’ve now passed one month into the U.S. government shutdown — and one month without COVID-19 or other infectious disease data updates from the CDC. COVID-19 levels seem to still be in a lull between waves in much of the country, based on available sources, but the situation is very uncertain. And there are signs of flu and RSV spread picking up.
- [NBA player Kristaps Porziņģis shares POTS diagnosis](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/10/25/nba-player-kristaps-porzingis-shares-pots-diagnosis/): Earlier this week, professional basketball player Kristaps Porziņģis shared his diagnosis of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). The 30-year-old player began facing severe health challenges this spring while playing for the Celtics that made running and exercise extremely difficult. While standing at rest he said his heart rate could be as high as 130. “It
- [Shutdown leaves gaps in states’ health data, possibly endangering lives](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/10/24/shutdown-leaves-gaps-in-states-health-data-possibly-endangering-lives/): As the federal shutdown continues, states have been forced to fall back on their own resources to spot disease outbreaks — just as respiratory illness season begins.
- [Research updates, October 21](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/10/21/research-updates-october-21/): A clinical trial for the anti-inflammatory drug Colchicine did not find the drug effective for Long COVID, according to a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. The randomized trial included 346 participants in India who took at least 0.5 milligrams once or twice per day, or a placebo, for 52 weeks.
- [National COVID-19 trends, October 21](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/10/21/national-covid-19-trends-october-21/): The U.S. is still largely without COVID-19 and other infectious disease data as the government shutdown continues. As Congress has repeatedly failed to pass a resolution that would fund federal agencies, the shutdown — and data delays — are likely to go into a fourth week, if not longer. This could be incredibly harmful as the U.S. heads into colder weather and the disease outbreaks that typically follow.
- [It’s been a month. And we still don’t know much about Kennedy’s Long COVID consortium.](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/10/21/its-been-a-month-and-we-still-dont-know-much-about-kennedys-long-covid-consortium/): Preliminary meetings are occurring amid the ongoing government shutdown, while some advocates call for Health Secretary Kennedy’s removal
- [Nicotine patches help relieve symptoms in some people with Long COVID. Can the science behind it lead to future therapies?](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/10/17/nicotine-patches-help-relieve-symptoms-in-some-people-with-long-covid-can-the-science-behind-it-lead-to-future-therapies/): Some people with Long COVID and the providers who were treating them wondered if nicotine, delivered by a mechanism other than cigarettes, might help with the chronic disease. For the next several years, white papers used anecdotal evidence to expand on that initial hypothesis.
- [Despite the ongoing pandemic, some companies are banning employees from masking](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/10/14/despite-the-ongoing-pandemic-some-companies-are-banning-employees-from-masking/): While some anti-mask policies have failed — a win for workers — there is a larger effort to ban masks in the U.S. on state and local levels. And more businesses may attempt to ban masks in the workplace even though these policies may violate laws that protect masks as accessibility devices. The Sick Times spoke with five workers affected by anti-mask attitudes in their workplaces, as well as organizers and a disability law expert, about how to push back against these policies.
- [Research updates, October 14](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/10/14/research-updates-october-14/): A large electronic health records study found SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with elevated risks of Human Papillomavirus (HPV)-related cancer.
- [National COVID-19 trends, October 14](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/10/14/national-covid-19-trends-october-14/): COVID-19 and other infectious disease data continue to be very limited while the U.S. government is shut down. Last week, the CDC updated a couple of national COVID-19 metrics; this week, the agency didn’t even update that national trends page. And even when Congress reaches a budget deal, infectious disease surveillance will remain under threat due to recent CDC layoffs.
- [Vyvgart brought us back to life, but the Long COVID trial was canceled. We are calling on the NIH and HHS to study the drug.](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/10/10/vyvgart-brought-us-back-to-life-but-the-long-covid-trial-was-canceled-we-are-calling-on-the-nih-and-hhs-to-study-the-drug/): We are a group of 53 individuals with Long COVID from across the U.S. In 2023, we joined a Long COVID clinical trial for Vyvgart (efgartigimod), a drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis. Without warning, the trial was canceled in June 2024.
- [Double trouble: Hypermobility may increase Long Covid risk](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/08/06/double-trouble-hypermobility-may-increase-long-covid-risk/): “For a middle-aged woman who hasn’t had any actual injuries, I’ve had a huge amount of physical therapy,” says Liza DiLeo Thomas, a 52-year-old emergency medicine doctor in New Orleans and mom to five kids. “My neck muscles were always weak, my knees were bad. In retrospect, I was actually hypermobile, I just didn’t realize it.” Hypermobility is a catch-all term for a spectrum of disorders characterized by joints capable of moving beyond the normal range of motion, often due to abnormalities in connective tissue. The most common of these disorders, which range from mild to severe, is known as Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (HEDS). HEDS seems to be more common in women and also may be connected to some cases of Long Covid.
- [Getting diagnosed with hypermobility can help some people with Long COVID. Upcoming guidelines may make it easier.](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/10/07/getting-diagnosed-with-hypermobility-can-help-some-people-with-long-covid-upcoming-guidelines-may-make-it-easier/): Current diagnostic criteria for hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS), a common comorbidity of Long COVID, are restrictive. The Ehlers-Danlos Society is developing new hEDS criteria that will be released in 2026.
- [Long COVID inspired me to start an IACC case competition at my business school. Here's how you can get involved.](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/10/03/long-covid-inspired-me-to-start-an-iacc-case-competition-at-my-business-school-heres-how-you-can-get-involved/): On October 31, at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business in Ann Arbor, top graduate students will compete to develop innovative business solutions for the IACC community. This event, which will be open to the public, will include testimonials from people with Long COVID and an expert panel, as well as the competition itself, which will offer $10,000 in prizes.
- [National COVID-19 trends, October 7](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/10/07/national-covid-19-trends-october-7/): COVID-19 data are limited this week due to the government shutdown, now the second time that vital disease surveillance has been interrupted since Trump took office in January. The CDC has not updated the majority of its COVID-19 and respiratory disease data pages since September 26.
- [Research updates, October 7](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/10/07/research-updates-october-7/): A new study that found the risk of Long COVID doubled in children following SARS-C0V-2 reinfection made mainstream headlines this week.
- [The first major novel on Long COVID falls for harmful tropes. It doesn’t have to be this way.](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/09/09/the-first-major-novel-on-long-covid-falls-for-harmful-tropes-it-doesnt-have-to-be-this-way/): More than four years into the pandemic, There’s Nothing Wrong with Her is the first novel from a mainstream American publishing company to explore the experience of Long COVID. Hopefully, more will follow to further explore — and educate readers about — the nature of this illness, but for now, Weinberg’s novel stands alone.
- [Patricia Lockwood explores the depths of Long COVID in the new novel “Will There Ever Be Another You”](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/09/30/patricia-lockwood-explores-the-depths-of-long-covid-in-the-new-novel-will-there-ever-be-another-you/): In her new novel Will There Ever Be Another You, which chronicles her experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, literary icon Patricia Lockwood writes, “‘Please don’t write about it,’ people were already begging each other, so she kept the notebook secret.”
- [Research updates, September 30](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/09/30/research-updates-september-30/): Researchers in Spain assessed over 190,000 participants, using data from a public health research network, in a study published in the journal Vaccines. They found that Long COVID prevalence was three to 10 times higher in individuals with three or more reported infections than in those with only one infection.
- [Kennedy’s HHS commits to Long COVID, but without clear funding](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/09/18/kennedys-hhs-commits-to-long-covid-but-without-clear-funding/): Following two roundtable discussions with leading researchers and government officials — but limited patient engagement — HHS announced a public awareness campaign and medical resource platform
- [National COVID-19 trends, September 30](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/09/30/national-covid-19-trends-september-30/): COVID-19 levels continue to decline across much of the U.S. as we proceed down the other side of this summer’s wave. But infectious disease spread remains high, especially in parts of the West Coast and South that had the highest peaks this summer; plus, cases might be trending further up in parts of the Northeast and Midwest.
- [Violet Affleck advocates for children with Long COVID, masks, and clean indoor air at United Nations event](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/09/23/violet-affleck-advocates-for-children-with-long-covid-masks-and-clean-indoor-air-at-united-nations-event/): During today’s United Nations (UN) event “Healthy Indoor Air: A Global Call to Action,” advocate Violet Affleck spoke about how clean air and masking are vital tools to address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
- [Long COVID is not FND, but some patients are getting diagnosed with it. Here’s what to do if it happens to you.](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/09/26/long-covid-is-not-fnd-but-some-patients-are-getting-diagnosed-with-it-heres-what-to-do-if-it-happens-to-you/): Some people with Long COVID are receiving potentially unhelpful diagnoses of functional neurological disorder (FND), a condition in which people experience neurological symptoms that cannot be attributed to known or currently identifiable pathophysiological causes.
- [National COVID-19 trends, September 23](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/09/23/national-covid-19-trends-september-23/): After an uncertain few weeks, all available metrics now agree that the U.S. has passed the peak of its summer/early fall COVID-19 surge. But even as disease levels trend down, there is still a lot of SARS-CoV-2 going around, and levels are unlikely to drop too much further as we start getting into colder weather. And, though updated vaccines are available, there are still barriers to accessing them.
- [Epidemiologist Caitlin Rivers shares advice for interpreting COVID-19 and other infectious disease data](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/09/18/epidemiologist-caitlin-rivers-shares-advice-for-interpreting-covid-19-and-other-infectious-disease-data/): To offer guidance on finding and interpreting infectious disease data during these confusing times, managing editor Betsy Ladyzhets talked to Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health and author of the popular newsletter, Force of Infection.
- [Research updates, September 23](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/09/23/research-updates-september-23/): Two recent studies found limitations of the drug Paxlovid for protection from Long COVID, contrasting prior studies that suggested the antiviral drug might help prevent this disease.
- [Letter to the editors: Concerns about California's right-to-mask bill](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/09/23/letter-to-the-editors-concerns-about-californias-right-to-mask-bill/): In May, The Sick Times published an op-ed about a novel bill in Illinois that would enshrine the right to wear medical masks into that state's law. The op-ed's author, a writer and advocate who was part of the coalition behind the bill, wrote that advocates in several other states had worked on similar legislation. We received this letter from a reader in California, sharing concerns about the right-to-mask bill currently pending in that state.
- [Still Here, September 19: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/09/18/still-here-september-19-links-and-transcript/): In this episode of Still Here, the finale of our season 1 ends the way it started, with a recap of the latest RECOVER-TLC workshop.
- [National COVID-19 trends, September 16](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/09/16/national-covid-19-trends-september-16/): The latest COVID-19 data offer conflicting information about whether or not we’ve passed the peak of this year’s summer/early fall surge. While test positivity and emergency department visit numbers suggest we have, at least in some parts of the country, wastewater surveillance data report widespread increases through early September.
- [Research updates, September 16](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/09/16/research-updates-september-16/): An estimated 36% of people with a documented SARS-CoV-2 infection worldwide have experienced Long COVID, according to a new systematic review that synthesized over 400 studies.
- [Germany’s “Reha” clinics aren’t set up for Long COVID. And patients are reporting harm.](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/09/16/germanys-reha-clinics-arent-set-up-for-long-covid-and-patients-are-reporting-harm/): The country's pension insurance system pushes people to go through rehabilitation (“Reha”) clinics before they can access disability supports.
- [Stop looking for a silver bullet. Start mixing the Long COVID cocktail.](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/09/12/stop-looking-for-a-silver-bullet-start-mixing-the-long-covid-cocktail/): Here’s what keeps me up at night: If some people are finding relief, why aren’t we scaling what might work? And why aren’t we trying multiple interventions at the same time?
- [Live blog: RECOVER-TLC workshop on new Long COVID clinical trials](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/09/09/live-blog-recover-tlc-workshop-on-new-long-covid-clinical-trials/): Researchers and advocates meet near the National Institutes of Health (NIH) campus this week in Bethesda, Maryland for the second RECOVER-Treating Long COVID (TLC) workshop. The two-day event will offer updates on the NIH’s larger $1.8-billion Long COVID research program, called RECOVER, and announce a new set of clinical trials for the disease.
- [RECOVER-TLC announces new Long COVID clinical trials, receives mixed reactions from patient community](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/09/09/recover-tlc-announces-new-long-covid-clinical-trials-receives-mixed-reactions-from-patient-community/): Some Long COVID advocates and researchers, including those who advised the National Institutes of Health’s initiative, say RECOVER-TLC isn’t living up to its promised ambition.
- [Research updates, September 9](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/09/09/research-updates-september-9/): A large study in Saudi Arabia found that 29% of participants who were infected with SARS-CoV-2 developed Long COVID. “This finding is consistent with the higher prevalence estimates reported globally and highlights the long-term burden of post-acute COVID-19 symptoms,” the authors of the study, published in BMC Infectious Diseases, wrote.
- [National COVID-19 trends, September 9](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/09/09/national-covid-19-trends-september-9/): COVID-19 is still spreading at high levels in the U.S., as the variant XFG collides with the start of a new school year. Some data sources suggest that this summer-into-early fall wave may have reached its peak in parts of the West and South. But indicators are mixed and disease levels are still far from any kind of baseline — while the CDC has once again adjusted its data presentation to make continued high disease spread appear less concerning.
- [Building a “community wiki” of Long COVID care: Salvatore Mattera on the Help for Long COVID review site](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/09/05/building-a-community-wiki-of-long-covid-care-salvatore-mattera-on-the-help-for-long-covid-review-site/): In spring 2025, Salvatore and Stephanie Mattera launched the new site Help for Long COVID, inspired by Salvatore’s challenges finding healthcare after he developed the disease. Managing editor Betsy Ladyzhets spoke to Salvatore Mattera about the project.
- [The crisis is “exasperating”: Long COVID compounds economic hardship in Argentina](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/08/22/the-crisis-is-expasperating-long-covid-compounds-economic-hardship-in-argentina/): Argentina is facing an invisible Long COVID crisis, marked by a lack of clinics, minimal media attention, no disability insurance to help people with the disease cope with their inability to work, and only a couple of Long COVID studies — all amid a 48% cut to the national health budget under President Javier Milei.
- [Research updates, September 2](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/09/02/research-updates-september-2/): Metformin may help reduce the risk of Long COVID, according to two new studies. One large study from the United Kingdom found that it reduced the rate of Long COVID in “obese and overweight” people by 63% percent.
- [How do you get people to care about COVID-19? Here’s what I’ve learned as an organizer.](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/09/02/how-do-you-get-people-to-care-about-covid-19-heres-what-ive-learned-as-an-organizer/): As someone with Long COVID, it’s demoralizing to see people in my circles party and engage in COVID-risky behaviors while I sit at home. It would be easy to turn my back on those people and give up on community organizations that minimize COVID-19. But that’s not me, and that’s not what being in community means.
- [National COVID-19 trends, September 2](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/09/02/national-covid-19-trends-september-2/): Screenshot of a CDC bar chart showing estimated SARS-CoV-2 variant prevalence in the U.S. The chart is titled, "Empiric Proportions and Nowcast Estimates in United States for 4-Week Periods in 9/1/2024 - 8/30/2025." Each bar in the chart represents variant prevalence for a given month using sections in different colors, going from September 2024 to August 2025. In fall 2024, the most prevalent variant was KP3.1.1 in teal, followed by LP.8.1 in orange in early 2025, and most recently XFG in periwinkle for summer 2025. In its most recent update, for August 2025, the CDC estimates that XFG caused 73% to 85% of U.S. COVID-19 cases.
- [National COVID-19 trends, August 19](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/08/19/national-covid-19-trends-august-19/): The U.S.’s summer COVID-19 surge continues, with cases increasing across all regions through early August, driven by travel and gatherings as well as the variant XFG. Despite the obvious increases in COVID-19 spread, the CDC’s wastewater dashboard — which recently updated its methodology — downplays current viral activity levels as “low.”
- [Despite waning headlines, bird flu is still a threat. Here’s how you can help farmworkers.](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/08/27/despite-waning-headlines-bird-flu-is-still-a-threat-heres-how-you-can-help-farmworkers/): In the arc of the bird flu in the U.S., 2024 to early 2025 was an explosive time. But then, last month, the CDC announced that it was ending its emergency response to the virus.
- [Still Here, August 22: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/08/22/still-here-august-22-links-and-transcript/): In this episode of Still Here: Betsy Ladyzhets and Miles Griffis recap the Keystone Symposia. Plus, a recap of a new NIH RECOVER preprint about reinfections.
- [Research updates, August 19](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/08/19/research-updates-august-19/): A new preprint from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) RECOVER study found that COVID reinfections may increase the risk of Long COVID by about 35%.
- [“The field is coming of age”: Long COVID researchers gather in Santa Fe to foster collaboration](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/08/19/the-field-is-coming-of-age-long-covid-researchers-gather-in-santa-fe-to-foster-collaboration/): Last week, leading Long COVID and infection-association chronic condition (IACC) researchers met in Santa Fe, New Mexico, for the field’s second Keystone Symposia meeting. They were joined by advocates, clinicians, and representatives from pharmaceutical companies for a three-day conference focused on sharing new research and building consensus.
- [Still Here, August 19: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/08/19/still-here-august-19-links-and-transcript/): In this episode of Still Here: A two-way between Miles Griffis and Betsy Ladyzhets comparing and contrasting Long COVID and ME clinical trial designs for drugs targeting immune dysregulation and viral persistence.
- [Long COVID taught me to slow down and stop trying to meet able-bodied benchmarks](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/08/15/long-covid-taught-me-to-slow-down-and-stop-trying-to-meet-able-bodied-benchmarks/): My life before Long COVID was very busy. I was in college, partying a lot and working as an artist and activist. I didn’t make time to rest, and it caused me to burn out. I tried to do everything at once and became overwhelmed.
- [No “easy home runs”: Early Long COVID trials of Paxlovid and monoclonal antibodies failed, but the treatments still have potential](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/08/12/no-easy-home-runs-early-long-covid-trials-of-paxlovid-and-monoclonal-antibodies-failed-but-the-treatments-still-have-potential/): While three early clinical trials of these drugs did not find they led to health improvements for participants, further trials are getting more intentional in targeting viral persistence.
- [Research updates, August 12](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/08/12/research-updates-august-12/): People with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) have significant genetic differences in their DNA, according to a preprint shared this week from the DecodeME study.
- [National COVID-19 trends, August 12](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/08/12/national-covid-19-trends-august-12/): COVID-19 rates continue to take off across the U.S. as our summer surge hits every region. All metrics report substantial increases in SARS-CoV-2 spread in recent weeks — and the latest data are from early August, meaning levels may be much higher now than our reported numbers.
- [Still Here, August 11: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/08/11/still-here-august-11-links-and-transcript/): In this episode of Still Here: Comparing and contrasting the BC 007 and rapamycin Long COVID and ME clinical trial designs.
- [‘Black Swan’ graphic designer, Derrick Kardos, dies at 53 due to complications of Long COVID](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/08/08/black-swan-graphic-designer-derrick-kardos-dies-at-53-due-to-complications-of-long-covid/): Derrick Kardos, an Oscar-nominated graphic designer and Long COVID advocate, died on July 18 at the age of 53 due to complications of Long COVID, his family recently announced.
- [Posthumous album of singer Kara Jane released on Severe ME Awareness Day](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/08/08/posthumous-album-of-singer-kara-jane-released-on-severe-me-awareness-day/): This month, on August 8, the posthumous album of a young singer was released to mark Severe ME Awareness Day. Kara Jane, from Derbyshire in the U.K., had myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) for most of her life and died in January 2023 at just 32 years old. Despite a life of immense pain and restriction, Kara
- [Still Here, August 6: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/08/06/still-here-august-6-links-and-transcript/): In this episode of Still Here: Recapping the Patient-Led Research Fund summer 2025 webinar.
- [Three clinical trials for Long COVID are testing JAK inhibitors to treat immune dysregulation](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/08/05/three-clinical-trials-for-long-covid-are-testing-jak-inhibitors-to-treat-immune-dysregulation/): Three separate trials are testing the immunomodulator drugs abrocitinib (Cibinqo), baricitinib (Olumiant), and upadacitinib (Rinvoq). All are JAK inhibitors, which target specific inflammation pathways.
- [Research updates, August 5](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/08/05/research-updates-august-5/): A drug originally developed for celiac disease was found to be safe and effective in treating a post-COVID syndrome in children, according to a new paper published in Science Translational Medicine.
- [National COVID-19 trends, August 5](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/08/05/national-covid-19-trends-august-5/): After a slow start, the U.S.’s summer COVID-19 wave is now clearly taking off, with cases increasing nationwide according to all metrics. While the South and West Coast continue to report the highest disease levels, increases are happening across the country.
- [Berlin Cures' failed Long COVID clinical trial yields lessons on study design](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/07/22/berlin-cures-failed-long-covid-clinical-trial-yields-lessons-on-study-design/): After advertising a potential Long COVID “cure” in its novel drug, called BC 007 (rovunaptabin), the German start-up Berlin Cures abruptly concluded its phase II clinical trial with a brief press release in November 2024 announcing the study was unsuccessful. The Sick Times spoke with study participants and outside experts and found that, while some participants did see improvement in their symptoms following BC 007 infusions, the study’s design was not set up to fully capture those changes.
- [As a linguist, I want to find the words to measure chronic illness](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/08/01/as-a-linguist-i-want-to-find-the-words-to-measure-chronic-illness/): So what words can I, a linguist and a patient with sensations perceivable only to me, use to fully capture these mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) sensations to my providers? And, more generally, how can we measure our unsettling internal realities if we can’t even name them?
- [Research updates, July 29](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/07/29/research-updates-july-29/): Two studies on potential biomarkers for myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) were published this month. Plus, new studies about stellate ganglion blocks.
- [Clinical trials are testing cancer drug rapamycin for Long COVID and ME](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/07/29/clinical-trials-are-testing-cancer-drug-rapamycin-for-long-covid-and-me/): Two clinical trials are currently underway in the U.S. to evaluate the effect of rapamycin on Long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) — one at Mount Sinai’s Cohen Center for Recovery from Complex Chronic Illness and another at Simmaron Research.
- [National COVID-19 trends, July 29](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/07/29/national-covid-19-trends-july-29/): COVID-19 cases continue to increase across the U.S., with summer outbreaks spreading from the South and West Coast to other regions. So far, this summer’s wave appears less intense than we’ve seen in prior years, but limited data lead me to be wary of getting too optimistic.
- [Between two crises: Living with Post-COVID Vaccine Syndrome in a Long COVID world](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/07/25/between-two-crises-living-with-post-covid-vaccine-syndrome-in-a-long-covid-world/): What I thought was a minor reaction became Post-COVID Vaccine Syndrome (PCVS), a condition I now live with alongside thousands of others. PCVS shares symptoms with Long COVID, including nerve pain, dysautonomia, tinnitus, fatigue, and heart issues — but faces unique stigma, leaving us dismissed and understudied.
- [Virtual town hall recording, July 2025](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/07/25/virtual-town-hall-recording-july-2025/): On July 24, The Sick Times hosted a virtual town hall. Co-founders and editors Miles Griffis and Betsy Ladyzhets shared updates about our editorial plans and finances and took questions from readers. The event is part of our summer 2025 fundraiser, which will continue through next week. Thank you to everyone who attended, we appreciated
- [Still Here, July 24: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/07/24/still-here-july-24-links-and-transcript/): In this episode of Still Here: Contributing writer Simon Spichak discusses what experts say are Canada's "concerning" latest guidelines for Long COVID, the CAN-PCC.
- [National COVID-19 trends, July 22](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/07/22/national-covid-19-trends-july-22/): A summer COVID-19 wave continues to pick up in the U.S., with national metrics now showing definite increases in mid-July. Cases are still increasing most aggressively in the South and West Coast, but there are signs that the wave is also starting to reach other regions.
- [Research updates, July 22](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/07/22/research-updates-july-22/): A treatment for cats with a COVID-related infection may help advance Long COVID research. In a small study in Stem Cells Translation Medicine, researchers treated 10 cats who got feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), a feline coronavirus infection that triggers immune dysfunction, and found that those who received a combination of the antiviral drug GS-441524 and mesenchymal stem/stromal cell (MSC) therapy had “enhanced immune recovery.”
- [Video essay: How does Long COVID affect queer and trans communities?](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/07/17/video-essay-how-does-long-covid-affect-queer-and-trans-communities/): Taipei is a drag queen in dramatic vampy makeup and a platinum blonde bob hairstyle. She wears a glitter burgundy dress with a bright red fur lined jacket over the top. She summarizes the unique ways in which Long COVID affects the queer and trans communities, showing examples of articles to illustrate her talking points.
- [Research updates, July 15](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/07/15/research-updates-july-15/): A new study in PNAS found elevated oxidative stress was a shared characteristic in both myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and Long COVID.
- [National COVID-19 trends, July 15](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/07/15/national-covid-19-trends-july-15/): Here are the latest national COVID-19 trends, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and major wastewater surveillance providers: About 0.8 in every 100,000 people were hospitalized for COVID-19 during the week ending June 28. COVID-19 test positivity data are not available for the week ending July 5; this metric was
- [Left without care: Many Long COVID clinics are closing down in the U.K.](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/07/15/left-without-care-many-long-covid-clinics-are-closing-down-in-the-u-k/): Fewer than half of U.K. Long COVID clinics will stay open this year, according to research from the charity Long COVID Support. At their peak, there were 120 clinics across the U.K., but only 46 have confirmed they will remain open.
- [Still Here, July 11: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/07/11/still-here-july-11-links-and-transcript/): In this episode of Still Here: Writer Britta Shoot shares how insurance providers create a no-win situation for patients and ME/Long COVID healthcare providers.
- [Live blog: Following the Patient-Led Research Fund summer 2025 webinar](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/07/09/live-blog-following-the-patient-led-research-fund-summer-2025-webinar/): Members of the Patient-Led Research Collaborative (PLRC) and grantees of their $5 million Patient-Led Research Fund will be presenting updates about their work in a webinar today. The virtual event will feature talks sharing new findings about the underlying biology of infection-associated chronic conditions (IACCs), as well as discussions about how patient engagement leads to better research.
- [Invivyd Chairman Marc Elia: The bureaucracy is killing people with Long COVID](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/02/14/invivyd-chairman-marc-elia-the-bureaucracy-is-killing-people-with-long-covid/): The Biden administration failed to prioritize innovative solutions that could alleviate or prevent the worsening of this crisis. Instead, they relied on short-acting, marginally-effective COVID-19 vaccines while restricting the development and availability of new medicines that could dramatically change health outcomes for millions.
- [Experts call new Canadian Long COVID guidelines “contradictory” and “deeply concerning”](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/07/08/experts-call-new-canadian-long-covid-guidelines-contradictory-and-deeply-concerning/): Guidelines recommend exercise and therapy as treatments, following attempted influence from Paul Garner.
- [Research updates, July 8](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/07/08/research-updates-july-8/): The biotech company Invivyd, which makes the COVID-19 monoclonal antibody Pemgarda, announced this week that it has launched the SPEAR Study Group to explore the drug for Long COVID and post-vaccine syndrome (PVS).
- [National COVID-19 trends, July 8](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/07/08/national-covid-19-trends-july-8/): The U.S.’s much-anticipated summer COVID-19 surge seems to be underway, but slowly and unevenly as the variant picture remains uncertain. As of late June, disease levels are increasing across the South and West Coast, but staying relatively low on the East Coast and Midwest. But our most recent available data are from before July 4, a holiday that typically accelerates outbreaks.
- [Still Here: Q&A with Paul Hennessy on local Long COVID organizing](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/07/01/still-here-qa-with-paul-hennessy-on-local-long-covid-organizing/): In this episode of Still Here: Paul Hennessy, a COVID-19 safety advocate based in the Los Angeles area and the Activism Director for Mask Together America, shares more about getting involved in local COVID-19 organizing, a L.A. budget proposal that reallocated COVID-19 funds meant for cleaner air to other infrastructure upgrades, and considerations for demonstrations centering Long COVID.
- [Research updates, June 3](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/06/03/research-updates-june-3/): A new National Institutes of Health RECOVER program study in JAMA Pediatrics found that around one in seven children under age six with a prior SARS-CoV-2 infection met the probable diagnostic criteria for Long COVID. Studying over 1,000 infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children, researchers revealed differences in how Long COVID presented between age groups.
- [Universities get an F on Long COVID. Here’s how they can support their students and reduce COVID-19 cases.](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/07/03/universities-get-an-f-on-long-covid-heres-how-they-can-support-their-students-and-reduce-covid-19-cases/): My infection months before came and went mildly, but it soon became obvious that my sluggishness and pain were not caused by caffeine, thesis stress, or hangovers. It was Long COVID.
- [Priced out: Some Long COVID and ME specialists charge high prices for concierge care](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/07/01/priced-out-some-long-covid-and-me-specialists-charge-high-prices-for-concierge-care/): One specialist is charging up to $8,500 a month. But the providers say insurance companies are to blame. Key points you should know: Prominent specialists treating complex infection-associated chronic conditions have stopped taking insurance, raised their rates, and/or moved to a concierge model, requiring patients to purchase expensive monthly subscriptions. The highest concierge fees range
- [Research updates, July 1](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/07/01/research-updates-july-1/): Scientists found a new antiviral drug prototype that prevented Long COVID in mice and could also help treat the disease. In a study describing this milestone, published in Nature Communications, researchers stated the antiviral targets the coronavirus’ PLpro protein, as opposed to the Mpro protein, which Paxlovid targets.
- [With no approved treatments and little support, people with Long COVID turn to online drug markets](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/12/12/with-no-approved-treatments-and-little-support-people-with-long-covid-turn-to-online-drug-markets/): With no approved treatments, lack of support, and stigma against the disease, many people with Long COVID are using overseas pharmacies to source medications. Some of these treatments are widely used for other conditions, such as HIV and hepatitis C, but are not approved for use in Long COVID.
- [Climate change is worsening symptoms of Long Covid and POTS. Here’s how people are navigating it.](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/08/12/climate-change-is-worsening-symptoms-of-long-covid-and-pots-heres-how-people-are-navigating-it/): This spring, a record-breaking heat wave swept through Brazil, triggering fires, exacerbating drought, and testing the country’s energy grid. Fernando Santos, 33, who had been living with Long Covid and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) since June 2021 and had made some progress in his recovery, began to decline when the heat arrived in Rio de Janeiro. Santos developed chest pain and fatigue so severe that he had to temporarily withdraw from his classes, where he was studying as an electrical technician student. Santos is one of many people with Long Covid who have been diagnosed with POTS, a form of autonomic dysfunction. Cases of POTS have been on the rise since the pandemic began, and research shows that a significant number of people who contract Covid-19 go on to be diagnosed with POTS within six to eight months of infection.
- [National COVID-19 trends, July 1](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/07/01/national-covid-19-trends-july-1/): Bar chart titled, "Published Sequences from NS3, CDC Sequencing Contracts, and Other CDC Sequencing Efforts: Weekly Published Sequences." The X axis represents time, from January 2021 to May 2025, while the Y axis represents SARS-CoV-2 sequences published each week. The number of sequences published increased and decreased along with COVID-19 spread from 2021 through 2023 but generally stated over 10,000 per week, peaking near 100,000 in early 2022. Since mid-2023, the number of sequences published has declined dramatically, typically staying under 2,000 a week in 2025. The bars are color-coded, with dark blue representing sequences published by the CDC itself and light blue representing sequences published by public health laboratories (PHLs) and partners.
- [Summer fundraiser: Help keep our essential work going into 2026](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/07/01/summer-fundraiser-help-keep-our-essential-work-going-into-2026/): The Sick Times needs our readers' help to keep our essential work going into 2026. This July, we’re aiming to raise $30,000 from our readers. We’re also aiming to have 100 readers set up new monthly donations.
- [End-of-year fundraiser results: Thank you for supporting The Sick Times!](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/01/03/end-of-year-fundraiser-results-thank-you-for-supporting-the-sick-times/): The Sick Times is starting 2025 with great news. Thanks to readers who supported our end-of-year fundraising campaign, we raised nearly $50,000 in small-dollar donations — which will be more than doubled, due to matching funds and additional support. This was our first year participating in the Institute for Nonprofit News’ NewsMatch program, which supports
- [Support Long COVID journalism in our end-of-year fundraiser](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/11/01/support-long-covid-journalism-in-our-end-of-year-fundraiser/): We’re dedicated to covering Long COVID for the people most impacted by this disease. Unlike mainstream media outlets, we’re not minimizing the ongoing pandemic. Instead, we’re exposing how this mass disabling event is impacting millions of people in the U.S. and around the world. That wouldn’t be possible without the support of community members like you.
- [Press release: The Sick Times announces $250,000 in funding to support expanded Long Covid coverage](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/04/30/press-release-the-sick-times-announces-250000-in-funding-to-support-expanded-long-covid-coverage/): The Sick Times, the nonprofit newsroom focused on Long Covid and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, is excited to announce it has received an award of $250,000 from the biotech giving fund Kanro. This grant will fund the organization’s general operations over the next 18 months, enabling its expansion to a larger newsroom. Kanro, along with
- [Press release: The Sick Times announces one year of covering the Long COVID crisis](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/11/14/press-release-the-sick-times-announces-one-year-of-covering-the-long-covid-crisis/): “Our reporting on Long COVID remains as vital today as it did when we launched,” executive editor Miles W. Griffis said. “Many of our colleagues in the media continue to minimize the disease and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic — but not The Sick Times. We report on the most common adverse outcome of COVID-19 affecting millions of Americans and hold those accountable for extending the crisis of mass disability and death.”
- [Fundraising update: We’ve raised nearly $10,000!](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/02/06/fundraising-update-weve-raised-nearly-10000/): In late November, The Sick Times announced our initial fundraiser, aiming to raise $75,000 as we build a full news website this year. Thanks to generous donations from you, our readers, we are now about 13% of the way to that goal — and have raised nearly $10,000 to support our work! You’re helping us demonstrate that readers are excited about original reporting on the Long Covid crisis from an independent, nonprofit newsroom. But we still have a long way to go to reach sustainability.
- [Even stones break in this heat: Experiencing Long COVID in Indonesia](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/06/27/even-stones-break-in-this-heat-experiencing-long-covid-in-indonesia/): Now it’s been four years. And this thing — this invisible thing — is still here. Every morning is a gamble. Will I wake up with energy? Or will my legs feel like stone? Will I be able to focus? Or will my thoughts float around like lint in the air, impossible to catch?
- [Still Here, June 25: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/06/25/still-here-june-25-links-and-transcript/): Reporter Laura Weiss covers the slew of recent COVID-19 vaccine policy changes ahead of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meeting.
- [UNC shuts down Long COVID clinic, leaving thousands without specialized care](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/06/24/unc-shuts-down-long-covid-clinic-leaving-thousands-without-specialized-care/): Before it closed last week, the University of North Carolina’s clinic was a leading site for Long COVID care in the U.S. South.
- [Research updates, June 24](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/06/24/research-updates-june-24/): A new review paper published in Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences focuses on how Long COVID impacts the nervous and immune systems, and describes it as a neuroimmune condition.
- [National COVID-19 trends, June 24](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/06/24/national-covid-19-trends-june-24/): National COVID-19 metrics in the U.S. continue to report consistent disease levels across much of the country — as I noted last week, I remain pleasantly surprised that we haven’t seen a sharper uptick yet this summer. Still, there are signs of increased SARS-CoV-2 spread in wastewater in some places, particularly on the West Coast and in the South, as the new variant NB.1.8.1 continues to spread.
- [The federal government is restricting COVID-19 vaccine access. Here’s what that means for the ongoing pandemic and people with Long COVID.](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/06/19/the-federal-government-is-restricting-covid-19-vaccine-access-heres-what-that-means-for-the-ongoing-pandemic-and-people-with-long-covid/): Recent policy changes around COVID-19 vaccines are already sowing chaos and confusion and restricting vaccine access — including for people who should still be eligible to receive them.
- [Research updates, June 17](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/06/17/research-updates-june-17/): Pregnant people infected with SARS-CoV-2 during their first trimester were more likely to have smaller newborns, according to a new study in Pediatric Research.
- [National COVID-19 trends, June 17](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/06/17/national-covid-19-trends-june-17/): While there are signs of a summer COVID-19 wave on the horizon in the U.S., disease levels remain low to moderate across much of the country as of early June. I’m honestly surprised by the latest data — I expected more of a sharp increase by now. But the new variant NB.1.8.1, now spreading in the U.S. in significant numbers, is likely to drive such an increase in the coming weeks.
- [Long COVID is increasing housing insecurity, but support programs fail to help](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/06/17/long-covid-is-increasing-housing-insecurity-but-support-programs-fail-to-help/): A growing body of research shows that Long COVID, combined with a lack of government support, leads to financial insecurity and housing instability.
- [Still Here, June 16: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/06/16/still-here-june-16-links-and-transcript/): In this episode of Still Here: Disabled writer and photographer Megan E. Doherty talks about her recent op-ed covering Illinois advocates' work on legislation that would ban mask bans in Illinois. And writer and artist Kelsey Simpkins discusses a gallery exhibit that opened last month in Colorado showcasing the work of artists with Long COVID.
- [Minnesota House budget proposes eliminating state Long COVID program](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/05/07/minnesota-house-budget-proposes-eliminating-state-long-covid-program/): Cuts could end Long COVID research, communications, and grants in Minnesota, which has been a leader in state-level public health responses to the crisis.
- [Still Here, June 12: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/06/12/still-here-june-12-links-and-transcript/): The Sick Times' team recaps the Spring 2025 PolyBio Research Symposium on Long COVID. And disabled journalist Lygia Navarro talks about the language we use for Long COVID.
- [Minnesota’s unique Long COVID program retains funding following advocacy](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/06/11/minnesotas-unique-long-covid-program-retains-funding-following-advocacy/): Advocates pushed back against threatened funding cuts and won continued support for Long COVID work in the Minnesota legislature’s final 2026–27 budget.
- [Research updates, June 10](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/06/10/research-updates-june-10/): Three recent studies show the harmful effects of misdiagnosis for chronic diseases and conditions. The first, a meta-analysis in Psychological Bulletin of 151 studies encompassing 11 diseases (including Long COVID) and over 11,000 participants, found that medical gaslighting led to adverse impacts including diagnostic delay and emotional stress.
- [Traveling with Long COVID is a challenge. Here’s how I made my journey safer.](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/06/10/traveling-with-long-covid-is-a-challenge-heres-how-i-made-my-journey-safer/): Last fall, I went on a trip to Ireland, traveling thousands of miles from my home in Illinois. I encountered many obstacles on my journey, but in the end was able to balance my energy and disability with some enjoyable ventures. I’m happy to report that I achieved my goal.
- [National COVID-19 trends, June 10](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/06/10/national-covid-19-trends-june-10/): A summer COVID-19 surge is likely on the way in the U.S. While the disease is still spreading at more moderate levels in most of the country, there are signals of increased viral spread in parts of the West and East Coasts. New variants are likely to accelerate outbreaks from summer travel and gatherings. And remember, all COVID-19 data are shared with delays, so disease levels are likely higher now than in the most recent available reports.
- [Illinois could become the first state in the country to ban mask bans. Here’s how we created the bill to do it.](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/05/27/illinois-could-become-the-first-state-in-the-country-to-ban-mask-bans-heres-how-we-created-the-bill-to-do-it/): Anti-mask laws are discriminatory and dangerous, and so I and other disability advocates across the country are stepping up to counter criminalizing with codifying: our bills would enshrine the right to mask in public spaces in state law.
- [Emergency departments aren’t trained for Long COVID — and patients are paying the price](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/06/02/emergency-departments-arent-trained-for-long-covid-and-patients-are-paying-the-price/): What do you call a system that doesn’t believe you’re sick until you’re dying? While emergency clinicians are trained to handle acute medical situations, many lack even a basic understanding of Long COVID and related diseases, such as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME).
- [Los Angeles’ $13M COVID-19 relief funds could go to building upgrades, not Long COVID care](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/06/02/los-angeles-13m-covid-19-relief-funds-could-go-to-building-upgrades-not-long-covid-care/): Los Angeles advocates worry that millions in unspent federal pandemic assistance will fund infrastructure projects instead of supporting residents with Long COVID or preventing new infections.
- [Churches are ignoring the Long COVID crisis. Some say it’s at odds with Christian values.](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/06/06/churches-are-ignoring-the-long-covid-crisis-some-say-its-at-odds-with-christian-values/): COVID-concerned Christians and Christians with Long COVID feel abandoned by their religious institutions, alongside other institutions — a blow they believe contradicts the clear connections between Christian values and COVID-19 precautions.
- [National COVID-19 trends, June 3](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/06/03/national-covid-19-trends-june-3/): Everyone in the COVID-tracking space is watching for a summer surge. Disease levels in the U.S. remain on the lower end as of late May, but I see warning signs for potential increases soon: cases are going up in some West Coast states, and new variant NB.1.8.1 has reached the U.S.
- [Live blog: International demonstrations ignite for Long COVID Awareness Day](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/03/15/international-demonstrations-ignite-for-long-covid-awareness-day/): Demonstrations for International Long COVID Awareness Day have sparked around the globe. Whether raising awareness about the disease in public or from their homes, people with Long COVID and their allies have raised their voices to demand recognition, research, treatments, support, and prevention of COVID-19 during the ongoing pandemic, as many in the community observe
- [Colorado art exhibition showcases creative expressions of Long COVID, advocates for research and treatment](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/05/23/colorado-art-exhibition-showcases-creative-expressions-of-long-covid-advocates-for-research-and-treatment/): A new exhibition at the Artworks Center for Contemporary Art in Loveland, Colorado, showcases 24 pieces of visual art by 15 artists who live with or are impacted by Long COVID. Within a dynamic gallery space, a diversity of work showcases different aspects of the Long COVID experience under the theme “And Still It Remains.”
- [National COVID-19 trends, May 27](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/05/27/national-covid-19-trends-may-27/): While national COVID-19 metrics continue to report slight declines, multiple weeks of increased spread in some parts of the U.S. (particularly on the West Coast) suggest we are getting closer to a summer wave. Plus, the latest available data are from before Memorial Day weekend, which tends to be the start of summer travel and large gatherings.
- [Research updates, May 27](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/05/27/research-updates-may-27/): A large study in Nature Genetics found a genetic risk factor for developing Long COVID. Researchers studied genetics data from 6,450 participants with Long COVID and over a million population controls across 16 countries, leading to the discovery that a variant near the FOXP4 gene increased the risk of the disease by about 60%.
- [Still Here, May 25: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/05/25/still-here-may-25-links-and-transcript/): Freelance journalist Kate Fishman on how games can offer a lens into the Long COVID experience. And science and medicine journalist Felicity Nelson talks about participating in a Long COVID clinical trial.
- [Research updates, May 20](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/05/20/research-updates-may-20/): Early results from a Long COVID clinical trial assessing the monoclonal antibody AER002 found no difference between those who got the drug and placebo. Researcher Michael Peluso revealed the results at the PolyBio Spring Symposium; he and his colleagues are still analyzing data and will publish a paper later.
- [Still Here, May 19: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/05/19/still-here-may-19-links-and-transcript/): Betsy Ladyzhets and Heather Hogan on two arts events that show the power of reflection, solidarity. And freelance writer Anna Wenner talks self-advocacy after a pulmonary embolism.
- [Live blog: Following the Spring 2025 PolyBio Symposium on Long COVID and related diseases](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/05/16/live-blog-following-the-spring-2025-polybio-symposium-on-long-covid-and-related-diseases/): Leading scientists studying Long COVID and related chronic diseases are set to present updates to their work on Friday at the PolyBio Research Foundation’s Spring Symposium. The Sick Times’ team will be following the presentations throughout the day.
- [I want a Long COVID language revolution — not language imposed onto my sick, disabled body](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/05/20/i-want-a-long-covid-language-revolution-not-language-imposed-onto-my-sick-disabled-body/): I wondered: Might there be a way to alter ableist language about disabled Long COVID lives and bodies? Or, at the very least, my own disabled body? So I talked with disabled experts who’ve written about disability and language and surveyed The Sick Times readers about their feelings around the language often used for our experiences and our bodies.
- [National COVID-19 trends, May 20](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/05/20/national-covid-19-trends-may-20/): The U.S. remains in a moderate lull between COVID-19 surges, with national metrics reporting slow declines through mid-May. There are increases in disease spread in a few West Coast states, however, and new variants now arriving in the country are likely to spur outbreaks this summer. Also, Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine is finally approved — but not universally. Federal health officials are introducing new challenges for further shots.
- [COVID-19 triggered a life-threatening pulmonary embolism that led to long-term lung damage. It took two ER trips before doctors believed me.](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/04/25/covid-19-triggered-a-life-threatening-pulmonary-embolism-that-led-to-long-term-lung-damage-it-took-two-er-trips-before-doctors-believed-me/): It started with chest pain. I woke up in the middle of the night and realized I couldn’t take a deep breath. I immediately pulled up the internet to search my symptoms. It turns out, anything with the search terms “chest pain” and “trouble breathing” leads to the same advice: go straight to the emergency room (ER). Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.
- [Two Long COVID-focused performances show the power of art for reflection and solidarity](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/04/29/two-long-covid-focused-performances-show-the-power-of-art-for-reflection-and-solidarity/): Two performances on April 24, in New York City and online, demonstrated how arts and theater spaces have become increasingly inaccessible to people with Long COVID, other chronic illnesses, and disabilities over the course of the ongoing pandemic — and how those artists are creating new spaces for themselves.
- [Research updates, April 22](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/04/22/research-updates-april-22/): COVID-19 may increase the long-term risk of cancer, according to a new pre-print from University of California, San Francisco and National Institutes of Health researchers. Scientists evaluated the blood of nearly 130 participants and found immune and metabolic damage in people with Long COVID, compared to controls. They concluded that COVID-19’s ability to degrade tumor
- [Avoiding caregiver burnout: Wisdom for the ME and Long COVID community](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/05/15/avoiding-caregiver-burnout-wisdom-for-the-me-and-long-covid-community/): Many caregivers spend so much time caring for their loved ones that they neglect themselves and burn out. Having experienced burnout myself, I encourage all caregivers to take intentional actions to strengthen their resilience. Over the years, I’ve learned invaluable mindset, emotional, physical, and spiritual strategies to strengthen my resilience so that when challenges arise, I can stay calm and grounded.
- [Trump commands HHS to terminate advisory committee on Long COVID ](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/02/21/trump-commands-hhs-to-terminate-advisory-committee-on-long-covid/): Listen to Miles discuss this story on our podcast: A new executive order from the Trump Administration commands the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to terminate the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Long COVID. The order, “Commencing the reduction of the federal bureaucracy,” was issued late on Wednesday, February 19, and included the termination
- [Secretary Kennedy promises to support Long COVID treatment research in Senate hearing, says son is “dramatically affected”](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/05/14/secretary-kennedy-promises-to-support-long-covid-treatment-research-in-senate-hearing-says-son-is-dramatically-affected/): Long COVID was at the top of legislators’ priority list during today’s Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-L.A.), who chairs the HELP Committee, asked about federal health agencies' commitment to addressing Long COVID in his first question to the Secretary.
- [“Millions Missing” protest at the Capitol demands myalgic encephalomyelitis funding, social support](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/05/12/millions-missing-protest-at-the-capitol-demands-myalgic-encephalomyelitis-funding-social-support/): Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), Long COVID, and other chronic disease advocates demonstrated outside the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., this afternoon. Organized by the advocacy group #MEAction, demonstrators demanded that the federal government fund ME research and preserve vital social support systems like Medicaid and telemedicine.
- [Research updates, May 13](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/05/13/research-updates-may-13/): The Bateman Horne Center and Open Medicine Foundation recently released a highly anticipated ME and Long COVID clinical care guide. The 96-page guide has been praised by many in the community as a useful tool for clinicians, patients, and their families.
- [“A morale boost”: Looking ahead to the 2025 Keystone Symposia Long COVID conference with Hannah Davis](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/05/09/a-morale-boost-looking-ahead-to-the-2025-keystone-symposia-long-covid-conference-with-hannah-davis/): In August, leading Long COVID researchers will gather in Santa Fe, New Mexico for a major conference on Long COVID and other post-acute infection syndromes. The meeting, organized by Long COVID experts and hosted by the nonprofit Keystone Symposia, follows a similar conference in 2023 at which scientists presented novel, exciting studies. Managing editor Betsy Ladyzhets caught up with Hannah Davis, one of the meeting’s co-organizers and co-lead of the Patient-Led Research Collaborative, to look ahead at the conference.
- [National COVID-19 trends, May 13](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/05/13/national-covid-19-trends-may-13/): National COVID-19 metrics continue to report declines, as the U.S. remains in a moderate lull between winter and summer surges. There are signs of increased disease spread on the West Coast, indicating that this region may experience the start of a summer wave before others.
- [Still Here, April 19: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/04/19/still-here-april-19-links-and-transcript/): How $11 billion CDC cuts are impacting state health departments' efforts to monitor Long COVID. Also, Ann Wallace reads three poems about living with the virus.
- [Still Here, May 6: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/05/06/still-here-may-6-links-and-transcript/): Science journalist Colleen de Bellefonds discusses a spinal surgery that can help reduce symptoms for some people who have a rare complication of myalgic encephalomyelitis — and, increasingly, Long COVID. And writer and COVID resource archivist Nadica Zimmerman shares experiences from people still practicing COVID safety in the midst of a lack of community support.
- [Research updates, May 6](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/05/06/research-updates-may-6/): A new preprint shared in Research Square analyzed the blood of people with post-vaccine syndrome (PVS). The small study evaluated 30 participants with PVS and compared them with controls using an advanced blood test technique. The researchers stated that post-vaccine syndrome is characterized by persistent immune dysregulation and issues with blood coagulation. “Our results highlight
- [Missives from the dismissed: Still COVIDing without community](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/04/18/missives-from-the-dismissed-still-coviding-without-community/): Combining my experience building COVID-safe communities online and interviews with over a dozen COVID-cautious people who are “still COVIDing” despite a lack of community, family, and/or peer support, I learned that many are stuck in situations that make living a normal life difficult or impossible because of widespread COVID-19 denial. This essay is a collection of advice and experiences for those who may be the lone masker in their own community, and a call to action for people in more COVID-cautious places to facilitate connection with those outside your immediate areas.
- [This surgery fuses people's skulls to their spines to treat a condition overlapping with myalgic encephalomyelitis](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/04/22/this-surgeon-fuses-peoples-skulls-to-their-spines-to-treat-a-rare-complication-of-myalgic-encephalomyelitis/): A growing number of doctors agree that a minority of people with severe ME are like Brea: Some of their symptoms are caused by cranio-cervical instability linked to connective tissue disorders. Viruses including SARS-CoV-2 have been shown to degrade connective tissue, Ruhoy points out, which could be a big issue for people with Long COVID and those getting multiple SARS-CoV-2 infections.
- [National COVID-19 trends, May 6](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/05/06/national-covid-19-trends-may-6/): COVID-19 trends in the U.S. remain similar to their status over the last few weeks: at a moderate plateau nationally, with all metrics reporting very little change. There are a few states that have reported increases in recent weeks, but it’s difficult to tell if these are more isolated hotspots or early signs of a summer surge.
- [How volunteering to become a lab rat paid off](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/05/02/how-volunteering-to-become-a-lab-rat-paid-off/): When I signed up for a clinical trial, I expected it to be thought provoking at best and onerous at worst. I didn’t expect it to change my life.
- [“Long COVID Mode”: Seeing the crisis through games](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/05/06/long-covid-mode-seeing-the-crisis-through-games/): Games uniquely incorporate emotional and social factors that influence how we take in information — making them surprisingly useful communication tools in a world in denial about the ongoing threats of COVID-19 and Long COVID. Whether through the cathartic storytelling in indie designers’ interactive theater projects or learning opportunities woven into popular video games, playing games can help people make informed decisions amid the Long COVID crisis.
- [Research updates, April 29](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/04/29/research-updates-april-29/): When compared to other masks, only N-95s were found to meet or to be close to occupational health standards, according to a small study published in PLOS One. The study found that N95s had 97-99% filtration efficiency (without fit testing), compared to KN94 and KN95 masks, which were found to have around 70% filtration efficiency.
- [National COVID-19 trends, April 29](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/04/29/national-covid-19-trends-april-29/): We remain in a moderate period between COVID-19 surges in the U.S., with all national metrics reporting plateaus or slight declines. Some data sources suggest that infections may be starting to go up in parts of the South, but these data are tentative so far. Meanwhile, Trump-appointed health officials are threatening the approval process for COVID-19 vaccines.
- [RECOVER grants for Long COVID pathobiology research are among those cut under new NIH directive](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/03/27/recover-grants-for-long-covid-pathobiology-research-are-among-those-cut-under-new-nih-directive/): Some grants for Long COVID pathobiology research in the National Institutes of Health’s RECOVER program are among those rescinded by the federal government this week under a new order to cut all funding for COVID-related research. Up to 45 grants awarded in 2022 and 2023 may have been revoked, as well as more recent grants not yet publicly announced, sources told The Sick Times.
- [National COVID-19 trends, April 22](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/04/22/national-covid-19-trends-april-22/): National COVID-19 metrics in the U.S. reported slight declines this week, indicating that we’re still in a moderate disease period between surges. SARS-CoV-2 levels appear to be trending back down in the Northeast following recent increases. Even in these “lower-risk” periods, COVID-19 still causes hundreds of deaths each week — a fact that government leaders continue to downplay.
- [A lack of provider literacy is straining people with Long COVID. Training programs for doctors could help.](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/02/28/a-lack-of-provider-literacy-is-straining-people-with-long-covid-training-programs-for-doctors-could-help/): Across the board nationally, primary care providers are largely uneducated on Long COVID, and typically don’t have the time or expertise to appropriately treat it. But some medical institutions are trying to address this knowledge gap through new training programs and resources to get clinicians up to speed.
- [Letter to the editors: The University of Washington's Long COVID clinic](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/04/21/letter-to-the-editors-the-university-of-washingtons-long-covid-clinic/): In February, The Sick Times published a story highlighting how educating primary care doctors about Long COVID could help address some of the challenges people face in finding healthcare for the disease. The story focused on the University of Washington (UW)'s Long COVID clinic as an example of a center working to train doctors, and
- [A timely book of poetry chronicles a mother — and her daughters’ — experience with Long COVID](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/04/14/a-timely-book-of-poetry-chronicles-a-mother-and-her-daughters-experience-with-long-covid/): Breath / is not something / anyone would dare / to hold right now, / even for luck, Ann E. Wallace wrote on the 33rd day of her acute COVID-19 case, during the first wave of the pandemic in spring 2020. Half a decade later, breathing still doesn't come easy for the Poet Laureate Emeritus of Jersey City. Like 400 million other people around the globe, her life has been upended and reshaped repeatedly by Long COVID.
- [$11 billion CDC funding cuts may decimate Long COVID response in several states](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/04/15/11-billion-cdc-funding-cuts-may-decimate-long-covid-response-in-several-states/): Long COVID research and communications projects in several states may be forced to shut down or curtail their efforts due to recent Trump administration cuts to public health funding. In these cuts, announced in late March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) abruptly canceled $11 billion in grants for COVID-19 and public health infrastructure efforts.
- [Research updates, April 15](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/04/15/research-updates-april-15/): Three studies this week highlighted the long-term effects of COVID-19 on children’s brains, kidneys, and cardiovascular systems. The first, a small imaging study in Scientific Reports, showed potential brain alterations in children following “mild” COVID-19. The second study, in JAMA Network Open, evaluated the electronic health records of 1.9 million children and found that those
- [National COVID-19 trends, April 15](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/04/15/national-covid-19-trends-april-15/): The COVID-19 picture in the U.S. continues to look similar to what we’ve seen over the last few weeks: moderate disease spread, declining very slowly or staying consistent in most places. While there are signals of potential increases for some parts of the Northeast and West Coast, it’s too soon to say if a spring/summer surge is imminent.
- [This is what it feels like: Artist visualizes Long COVID symptoms](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/07/23/this-is-what-it-feels-like-artist-visualizes-long-covid-symptoms/): With a multi-systemic disease as debilitating as Long Covid, it isn’t always easy to explain the constellations of symptoms we experience. So, In late 2023, the Oregon-based artist Daphne Mir started the project “Illmarks” to conceptualize the sinister Long Covid symptoms they developed after a SARS-CoV-2 infection in 2022. A series of “affecting and relatable” body horror maps and symptom visualizations help show what the disease feels like to Mir.
- [“It’s like torture”: The tilt table test could be risky for many people with Long COVID](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/04/08/its-like-torture-the-tilt-table-test-could-be-risky-for-many-people-with-long-covid/): “The tilt table test is likely to be contraindicated in people with severe ME/CFS and related conditions,” Harvey said. Studies show about half of all Long COVID patients meet the diagnostic criteria for ME, a disease marked by debilitating post-exertional malaise (PEM). Harvey is not alone. A dozen people with ME and Long COVID interviewed for this article shared stories of harmful TTT experiences, and many more have shared the same on social media.
- [An international emergency task force is urgently needed for Severe Long COVID and ME crisis cases](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/04/04/an-international-emergency-task-force-is-urgently-needed-for-severe-long-covid-and-me-crisis-cases/): Without one, Severe advocates are putting themselves at risk. It’s time for advocacy organizations to step up. Writer’s note: In this essay, I deliberately capitalize different categories of ME in order to give each the weight and dignity they deserve. I also choose to distinguish between the Sick and the Well to highlight our status
- [Still Here, April 12: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/04/12/still-here-april-12-links-and-transcript/): Why tilt table tests could be risky for many people with Long COVID. And the case for an international emergency task force for Severe Long COVID crisis cases.
- [Still Here, April 5: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/04/05/still-here-april-5-links-and-transcript/): Behind the saga of revoked — then reinstated — grants for Long COVID pathobiology research. And an update on bird flu's pandemic potential.
- [Research updates, April 8](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/04/08/research-updates-april-8/): People who recently had COVID-19 are at higher risk for other viral and bacterial infections, according to a paper published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. The researchers used Veterans Affairs electronic health records from over 800,000 people, and compared infection history between those who had a positive COVID-19 test and those who did not. Those who tested positive had higher rates of bacterial and viral infections, including Epstein-Barr virus and seasonal respiratory viruses, in the year following their COVID-19 diagnosis.
- [Lisa McCorkell reflects on five years of Long COVID research, and leaving PLRC](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/04/07/lisa-mccorkell-reflects-on-five-years-of-long-covid-research-and-leaving-plrc/): Lisa McCorkell, one of the founders of the Patient-Led Research Collaborative (or PLRC), recently stepped down after five years co-leading the organization. The Sick Times co-founder and managing editor Betsy Ladyzhets spoke with McCorkell in an exit interview. She reflected on her time collaborating on formative Long COVID studies, advocating for federal funding, developing new patient-led initiatives, and more.
- [National COVID-19 trends, April 8](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/04/08/national-covid-19-trends-april-8/): COVID-19 spread in the U.S. remains at a moderate plateau: disease levels have neither increased nor decreased beyond small changes for the last month. While most metrics report stability or minor declines, there are a few signals of potential outbreaks in the Northeast. And seasonal diseases are on the decline, but measles continues to be a concern.
- [National COVID-19 trends, April 1](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/04/01/national-covid-19-trends-april-1/): The U.S. remains in a lull between COVID-19 surges: disease spread continues to be at similar, moderate levels to what we’ve seen for the last month. While national metrics all report plateaus or slight declines, there are indicators of potential early-spring increases in some places. Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s cuts to local public health funding may damage future surveillance efforts.
- [What we know about the U.S. bird flu outbreak and its chronic disease risk](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/04/01/what-we-know-about-the-u-s-bird-flu-outbreak-and-its-chronic-disease-risk/): When H5N1 first landed in North America, borne on the wings of migratory birds blown off course from Europe in late 2021, Seema Lakdawala followed the developments closely, but she wasn’t overly worried about it leading to a pandemic in humans yet. There were still a few steps the highly pathogenic avian influenza needed to take before it rose the rungs of her worry scale, she told me in early 2023. Now, all of those things have happened.
- [UPDATE: RECOVER Long COVID pathobiology grants restored](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/03/28/update-recover-long-covid-pathobiology-grants-restored/): Long COVID research grants from the National Institutes of Health’s RECOVER program will be restored following news stories about their abrupt cancellations and advocacy to restore the funding, according to patient representatives in the initiative.
- [Research updates, April 1](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/04/01/research-updates-april-1/): Children and adolescents face a significantly increased risk of Long COVID following reinfections with SARS-CoV-2, according to a new National Institutes of Health (NIH) RECOVER preprint shared on MedRxiv. The study assessed 465,000 children and adolescents under 21 years old using electronic healthcare records from the NIH RECOVER study, focusing on those infected in 2022
- [Still Here, March 29: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/03/29/still-here-march-29-links-and-transcript/): Miles Griffis and Betsy Ladyzhets on the Office of Long COVID closing. And Christina Igaraividez reads part of her essay about a transformative friendship.
- [A serendipitous friendship taught me my greatest lesson in living with Long COVID: How to just be](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/03/21/a-serendipitous-friendship-taught-me-my-greatest-lesson-in-living-with-long-covid-how-to-just-be/): It’s difficult for me to tell people about Long COVID because it’s impossible for them to understand how someone who looks so “normal” can be so sick. Most of the time, I don’t say anything. But something about Bianca’s warmth made me feel like I could. Little did I know, meeting her would lead me to a new friend who would transform how I lived with Long COVID.
- [Long COVID data are being erased, again](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/03/25/long-covid-data-are-being-erased-again/): The lack of comprehensive Long COVID case counts may be considered one of public health’s greatest failures. But as we enter the sixth year of this ongoing pandemic, U.S. institutions are sweeping this mass disabling event under the rug perhaps more than ever before. We can’t let them get away with it.
- [Trump administration set to abolish the Office of Long COVID Research and Practice](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/03/25/trump-administration-set-to-abolish-the-office-of-long-covid-research-and-practice/): The Trump administration is set to dismantle the federal government’s Office of Long COVID Research and Practice (OLC) this week as part of a larger restructuring of health agencies, sources have told The Sick Times. This news, also reported by POLITICO and the Substack Inside Medicine, represents another blow among several moves this administration has taken to diminish federal resources for studying and supporting people with Long COVID.
- [Still Here, March 9: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/03/09/still-here-march-9-links-and-transcript/): In this episode: Co-host Betsy Ladyzhets shares the experiences of federal government workers with Long COVID. And more on The Sick Times' first hybrid event.
- [Still Here, March 15: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/03/15/still-here-march-15-links-and-transcript/): Co-host Miles Griffis reflects on half a decade of having Long COVID, five years after the declaration of emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic.
- [Still Here, March 22: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/03/22/still-here-march-22-links-and-transcript/): In this episode: Freelance reporter Rishabh Jain on Long COVID in India. And The Sick Times' engagement editor Heather Hogan on claiming Long COVID identity.
- [We set out to make our ‘invisible illness’ visible in South Africa with SICK Pride](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/11/05/we-set-out-to-make-our-invisible-illness-visible-in-south-africa-with-sick-pride/): How can people with energy-limiting conditions march for our rights if we have negligible physical capability and exertion worsens our symptoms? My colleague Mlindeni Gabela and I are pioneering a new kind of protest in South Africa: SICK Pride. SICK stands for the Society for the Inclusion of Chronic Knowledge, which we feel is a precious resource post-2020.
- [Research updates, March 25](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/03/25/research-updates-march-25/): A new study in The American Journal of Medicine found that people with Long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) have similarly impaired vascular function. The small study assessed the blood vessel response of 17 people with Long COVID, 17 with ME, and 17 controls. The authors concluded that the impaired endothelial function (i.e., poor functioning
- [National COVID-19 trends, March 25](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/03/25/national-covid-19-trends-march-25/): COVID-19 levels in the U.S. have remained at about the same, moderate level for the last couple of weeks. In the most recent data, some sources report slight increases, while others report slight decreases. It seems unlikely that disease spread will get much lower this spring before going up again, renewed by further travel, gatherings, and viral variants.
- [Our community came together to start International Long COVID Awareness Day in 2023. Here’s how you can get involved this year.](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/03/14/our-community-came-together-to-start-international-long-covid-awareness-day-in-2023-heres-how-you-can-get-involved-this-year/): March 15, 2025 marks the third annual observance of Long COVID Awareness Day. Efforts organized around the day educate the public on Long COVID, and put pressure on governments, policymakers, public health officials, and healthcare workers to take action on the disease.
- [The sick soft butch who did: How confronting a racist in my neighborhood helped me claim my Long COVID identity](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/03/18/the-sick-soft-butch-who-did-how-confronting-a-racist-in-my-neighborhood-helped-me-claim-my-long-covid-identity/): The last thing I thought before I smashed, face first, into the New York City sidewalk, was, Dang, my wife's going to want me to start taking my cane with me everywhere I go. But mostly, I was worried one of my neighbors would watch me tumble over and go limp.
- [Research updates, March 18](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/03/18/research-updates-march-18/): Last week, researchers met for the Conference for Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in San Francisco, California. While the conference focuses on HIV and related diseases, it has included research on Long COVID and COVID-19 in recent years due to their impacts on people with HIV. This year, there were at least 24 papers that
- [National COVID-19 trends, March 18](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/03/18/national-covid-19-trends-march-18/): COVID-19 declines continue in the U.S., though the changes in disease levels have been relatively minor this week. While we are in a lull between surges, SARS-CoV-2 levels (as measured in wastewater) remain much higher than the early years of the pandemic — and higher than lulls last spring and fall. Meanwhile, health officials are now applying the same tactics used to minimize COVID-19 to other diseases.
- [Half a decade of Long COVID](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/03/07/half-a-decade-of-long-covid/): Looking back on half a decade, there have been numerous milestones in Long COVID research, advocacy, and greater societal awareness, many led by people with the disease. There has also been, and continues to be, a lot of loss.
- [Federal workers with Long COVID face firings, loss of accommodations, and more challenges under Trump](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/03/03/federal-workers-with-long-covid-face-firings-loss-of-accommodations-and-more-challenges-under-trump/): Many federal government employees with Long COVID and other chronic diseases and disabilities are deeply concerned about their future under the Trump administration. The Sick Times spoke to several federal workers with Long COVID who have been part of mass firings, have faced new challenges receiving work accommodations, and have been asked to do work that diminishes their identities.
- [“There is no money to survive”: Long COVID pushes India’s marginalized workers deeper into poverty](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/03/14/there-is-no-money-to-survive-long-covid-pushes-indias-marginalized-workers-deeper-into-poverty/): While research on Long COVID in India is scarce, studies and people’s experiences suggest that the pandemic has deepened socioeconomic inequalities in the country. Among the hardest hit are marginalized workers, including daily wage laborers and cleaners, whose livelihoods depend on intense physical labor. For them, Long COVID is not just a health and disability issue — it is an economic catastrophe that pushes families into cycles of poverty.
- [Research updates, March 11](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/03/11/research-updates-march-11/): Researchers in China looked into the long-term molecular changes in people with Long COVID for a study published in BMC Medicine. They assessed 70 people who were hospitalized with COVID-19 during the first five months of the pandemic, and compared markers of their metabolism with pre-pandemic controls. They followed the participants for three years and
- [National COVID-19 trends, March 11](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/03/11/national-covid-19-trends-march-11/): COVID-19 levels continue to slowly decline in the U.S. as we move into a period of more moderate disease spread. While it’s always good news to see decreases, the lulls between surges still represent tens of thousands of new infections each day — each of which can lead to potential severe symptoms and Long COVID. Five years after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, this collective health crisis is far from “over.”
- [Accurate statistics for ME and Long COVID are vital. That’s why I started a patient-led organization to “crunch” the diseases.](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/03/11/accurate-statistics-for-me-and-long-covid-are-vital-thats-why-i-started-a-patient-led-organization-to-crunch-the-diseases/): Since falling ill with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) in 2018, it has frustrated me greatly seeing organizations and especially governments repeating out-of-date statistics related to this disease — minimizing either the apparent number of sufferers (such as the much-repeated 250,000 figure for the number of ME patients in the UK) or our degree of suffering.
- [RECOVER hasn’t been impacted by Trump freezes so far, sources say. But the program’s future is still uncertain.](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/01/31/recover-hasnt-been-impacted-by-trump-freezes-so-far-sources-say-but-the-programs-future-is-still-uncertain/): As scientists across the country face confusion and uncertainty following drastic changes at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under President Donald Trump, the agency’s flagship Long COVID research program is continuing its existing work as usual. But future studies could be delayed or interrupted and prospects for additional funding are unclear under Trump’s leadership.
- [National COVID-19 trends, March 4](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/03/04/national-covid-19-trends-march-4/): COVID-19 levels in the U.S. continue to inch downward, from a high winter plateau to a potentially-still-pretty-high spring plateau. As cases were lower than expected in the last couple of months, some experts are concerned we could see more outbreaks in the spring and summer. Meanwhile, continued cuts in the federal government will make it easier for many diseases to spread by reducing surveillance resources and undermining important tools like vaccines.
- [Research updates, March 4](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/03/04/research-update-march-4/): Children with Long COVID have lung abnormalities, according to new research in Radiology. The small, prospective study included 54 participants, 27 with Long COVID and 27 matched controls. Researchers assessed them with an advanced MRI technique that measures both ventilation (flow of air into the lungs) and perfusion (blood flow). Children with Long COVID had
- [Still Here, February 28: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/02/28/still-here-february-28-links-and-transcript/): In this episode: Trump's executive order to sunset a Department of Health and Human Services Long COVID advisory committee and being a "Long COVID unicorn."
- [Event announcement: Commemorating Long COVID Awareness Day](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/03/04/event-announcement-commemorating-long-covid-awareness-day/): Join The Sick Times, the only news site dedicated to Long COVID and related diseases, for an evening commemorating Long COVID Awareness Day 2025 and the five-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic landing in New York City. As the pandemic continues — but goes ignored by mainstream media, political leaders, and even leftist and advocacy
- [The Long COVID unicorn: How I lost faith in my leftist political party](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/02/25/the-long-covid-unicorn-how-i-lost-faith-in-my-leftist-political-party/): During a Zoom meeting with a member of my local Green Party, I asked to give an in-person speech about the COVID-19 policy and my own experiences. I was excited to give my speech about Long COVID. I thought I would be speaking to a friendly crowd who understood the threat of COVID-19, but I have never been more wrong.
- [Without clear clinical guidelines in México, people with Long COVID face gaslighting and erasure](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/02/18/without-clear-clinical-guidelines-in-mexico-people-with-long-covid-face-gaslighting-and-erasure/): The only explanation Jacqueline Ventura can think of is Long COVID, also called COVID persistente in México. But though Ventura accrued a hodgepodge of symptoms for two years after getting reinfected with SARS-CoV-2, doctors never diagnosed her with the disease. Every symptom had an alternate explanation. Like many around the world with Long COVID, the weightlifter from the State of Mexico has had to search for answers herself. She learned that many of the symptoms she had since her reinfection lined up with the disease. Yet no one would name it.
- [False hope: In Sub-Saharan Africa, wars damage Long COVID research and surveillance](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/02/25/false-hope-in-sub-saharan-africa-wars-damage-long-covid-research-and-surveillance/): In summer 2023, clinical nurse Rino Da Costa was well into recruiting participants for a study to monitor Long COVID cases in Naquitengue, a village in Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique. It was a promising research endeavor until a flaring of gunfighting sunk her efforts.
- [Still Here, February 25: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/02/25/still-here-february-25-links-and-transcript/): This episode: Invivyd's Marc Elia on monoclonal antibodies are the next paradigm shift to approaching COVID. Also, Long COVID clinical guidelines in Mexico.
- [Research updates, February 25](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/02/25/research-updates-february-25/): A new preprint from Akiko Iwasaki’s lab at Yale University, David Putrino’s group at Mount Sinai, and other collaborators found distinct immunological changes in people with post-vaccine syndrome (PVS) from COVID-19 vaccines. Researchers collected blood samples from 42 people with PVS and 22 controls. They then compared the samples with blood from 134 people with
- [National COVID-19 trends, February 25](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/02/25/national-covid-19-trends-february-25/): COVID-19 levels appear to be finally declining (albeit slowly) in the U.S. after a month of plateaus, with wastewater and healthcare system metrics both showing decreases in infections. Seasonal flu is also on the decline, following record levels in recent weeks. But both pathogens are still spreading at high levels and causing severe disease and chronic illness for many people.
- [Research updates, February 18](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/02/18/research-updates-february-18/): A recently-announced phase III clinical trial for Long COVID will test a combination of the HIV drug Selzentry (Maraviroc) and the statin Lipitor (Atorvastatin). The FDA-approved trial is separate from the PolyBio trial of Maraviroc, and will test the two-drug combination for 32 weeks with 252 participants. The trial is being conducted by Healthbio Therapeutics,
- [National COVID-19 trends, February 18](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/02/18/national-covid-19-trends-february-18/): COVID-19 levels remain elevated across the U.S., as our long winter surge continues. Wastewater and healthcare data indicate high and steady COVID-19 cases through early February, as well as an ongoing record-high seasonal flu season and threats of the bird flu H5N1.
- [Now offline: Government resources about Long COVID as a disability](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/02/11/now-offline-government-resources-about-long-covid-as-a-disability/): Several government resources about accommodations for people with Long COVID have become unavailable in the last week, following purges of government websites and datasets under the Trump administration. These pages offered crucial information about rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for people with Long COVID and their employers.
- [We won’t avoid the next pandemic. But we can still prepare.](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/02/07/we-wont-avoid-the-next-pandemic-but-we-can-still-prepare/): When a pandemic begins, so does the blame game. Early days of COVID-19 pointed fingers at wild meat markets and debunked lab leak conspiracies, and that crystallized a long-running narrative that outbreaks are generally humans’ fault; roll the dice enough times with wildlife and you’re bound to land on a plague. Problem is, generalizing that narrative may be misleading, if not just wrong and racist, according to Colin Carlson, a global change biologist who studies pandemics and climate at Yale University.
- [Still Here, February 14: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/02/14/still-here-february-14-links-and-transcript/): In this episode: How can reframing pandemics as inevitable change our preparation for them? And resources for people with Long COVID seeking accommodations.
- [National COVID-19 trends, February 11](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/02/11/national-covid-19-trends-february-11/): COVID-19 levels remain high in the U.S. as our longer-than-usual winter surge continues. While disease spread is decreasing in some regions, that decline is offset by increases and plateaus in other parts of the country. We’re also seeing a record-high seasonal flu season, as concerns about the bird flu H5N1 continue to grow.
- [Research updates, February 11](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/02/11/research-updates-february-11/): A comprehensive review in Frontiers in Neurology assessed 180 studies on the neurological sequelae of Long COVID. “Our analysis suggests that vascular dysfunction, neuroinflammation, and gut-brain axis disruption create self-sustaining feedback loops that maintain chronic symptoms,” the authors wrote. They concluded that Long COVID may be “shifting the landscape of psychiatric and neurological health worldwide.”
- [Still Here, February 7: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/02/07/still-here-february-7-links-and-transcript/): In the Feb. 7, 2025 episode: How has the ongoing pandemic impacted friendships? Sociologist October Krausch looked at over 2,500 survey responses to learn more.
- [The “pandemic of abandonment”: Navigating friendships five years into COVID-19](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/01/30/the-pandemic-of-abandonment-navigating-friendships-five-years-into-covid-19/): Over the last five years of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many people have experienced significant changes and ruptures to their personal relationships. People with Long COVID and people taking COVID-19 precautions have lost many friends as they are not able or willing to return to “pre-pandemic” behaviors.
- [National COVID-19 trends, February 4](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/02/04/national-covid-19-trends-february-4/): Our season of intense virus spread continues in the U.S. For now, we are still able to track that spread as major CDC data sources are (or at least appear to be) back to their regular update schedule following interruptions from the Trump administration. Some COVID-19 and flu indicators have gone back up this week, suggesting that the current wave of illness may extend into the spring — particularly for parts of the country that reported lower disease spread so far this winter.
- [My husband and I have both had ME for decades, then our son got Long COVID](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/02/06/my-husband-and-i-have-both-had-me-for-decades-then-our-son-got-long-covid/): When our seventeen-year-old son Nick developed Long COVID after suffering a pulmonary haemorrhage in 2022, like any parents, we were devastated. But for us it hit harder. History was repeating itself — and it was something we had dreaded since having children.
- [“Really pissed off”: Cochrane receives backlash from advocates and experts after abandoning ME/CFS review](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/02/04/really-pissed-off-cochrane-receives-backlash-from-advocates-and-experts-after-abandoning-me-cfs-review/): For decades, Cochrane — formerly called the Cochrane Collaboration — has been known internationally for its systematic reviews of medical treatments and interventions. Now the U.K.-based charity is under fire for its clumsy handling of a thorny issue: the status of a flawed 2019 review of exercise therapy for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).
- [Some U.S. COVID-19 data are down amid “pause” to federal health communications](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/01/24/some-u-s-covid-19-data-are-down-amid-pause-to-federal-health-communications/): The U.S. government has stopped updating some of its public COVID-19 data, as part of a “pause” to public federal health communications under President Donald Trump. While federal officials have not formally announced any details, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has missed scheduled updates to some infectious disease dashboards this week. A few crucial data pages, including the agency’s wastewater surveillance dashboard, were updated despite the pause. But other missing updates and reports represent a huge blow to our ability to track COVID-19, as well as other infectious diseases.
- [As someone with Long COVID, I’m terrified of what could happen to the Affordable Care Act](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/01/27/as-someone-with-long-covid-im-terrified-of-what-could-happen-to-the-affordable-care-act/): Based on my past experiences, I fear that many Americans – including myself – may soon be deprived of the accessible, affordable healthcare we desperately need. Listen to Bobbi Dempsey discuss this essay on our podcast (timestamp: 14:20): It’s not an exaggeration to say that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) saved my life. Nearly 15
- [Still Here, February 1: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/02/01/still-here-february-1-links-and-transcript/): Access to COVID-19 data during the federal health communication “pause. And why the Affordable Care Act might be at risk, from a freelance writer with Long COVID.
- [Research updates, February 4](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/02/04/research-updates-february-4/): Researchers found a distinct blood signature in children with Long COVID with 93% accuracy. Published in Pediatric Research, the study assessed blood plasma proteins from 34 children with the disease and compared them with healthy controls, children with acute COVID-19, and children with MIS-C. “Long COVID was characterized by higher expression of the proinflammatory and
- [Still Here, January 25: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/01/25/still-here-january-25-links-and-transcript/): In this week's episode: A blood-based biomarker for Long COVID could be on the horizon. And living with Long COVID as a Palestinian in the United States.
- [Breaking: Vital Long COVID data taken down following Trump order](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/01/31/breaking-vital-long-covid-data-taken-down-following-trump-order/): A key source of U.S. Long COVID data is now offline following a purge of information related to sexual orientation and gender identity ordered by President Donald Trump’s administration. The Household Pulse Survey, a data collection effort by the U.S. Census and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is among many CDC datasets and pages that became unavailable on Friday.
- [Research updates, January 28](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/01/28/research-updates-january-28/): A double-blind clinical trial for Long COVID is recruiting to trial the amino acid peptide Larazotide (AT1001) on children and adults participants. The drug, which has been studied in celiac disease, will be given to 32 participants four times a day orally for 21 days; 16 people will receive a placebo. The study is being
- [National COVID-19 trends, January 28](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/01/28/national-covid-19-trends-january-28/): The U.S. remains in a period of high disease spread, for COVID-19 as well as seasonal pathogens like the flu and norovirus. COVID-19 levels are declining, but our less-intense-than-usual winter surge may give way to more cases this spring. And the public health landscape is full of uncertainty right now as a new Trump administration takes over federal agencies.
- [Long COVID is a smoldering threat to wildland firefighters](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/01/23/long-covid-is-a-smoldering-threat-to-wildland-firefighters/): Editor’s note: This story was originally published in October 2022 by High Country News and was supported by The Economic Hardship Reporting Project. Researchers found that particulate matter from wildfires can increase risk of COVID-19 and that wildland firefighters may be at a higher risk of developing Long COVID due to a variety of factors.
- [Finding an accepted Long COVID biomarker will be complicated. This blood test could give us answers.](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/01/21/finding-an-accepted-long-covid-biomarker-will-be-complicated-this-blood-test-could-give-us-answers/): Last year, immunologist Johan Van Weyenbergh published a study in The Lancet: Microbe that identified a potential blood-based biomarker for Long COVID with 94% sensitivity. Van Weyenbergh’s team discovered SARS-CoV-2 RNA transcripts in the blood cells of people with Long COVID. They also found a specific type of RNA, called ORF1ab RNA, which suggested there could also be ongoing viral replication of SARS-C0V-2 in people with the disease.
- [Research updates, January 21](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/01/21/research-updates-january-21/): The U.S. government is funding a $375 million effort for a new COVID-19 prevention drug for immunocompromised people, as part of Project NextGen. The federal health department provided the funds to the drug company Shionogi Inc. for a long-acting pre-exposure prophylactic (PreP) called S-892216 that blocks the main protease of SARS-CoV-2.
- [National COVID-19 trends, January 21](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/01/21/national-covid-19-trends-january-21/): All COVID-19 data sources indicate that cases are now decreasing in the U.S., suggesting we’re past the peak of this winter’s surge. This winter’s wave seems to be less intense than those in the last couple of years, but it’s still led to millions of cases and many thousands of hospitalizations and deaths. Other diseases — especially norovirus — continue to spread, too.
- [Instead of supporting people with Long COVID, our government funds a genocide](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/01/17/instead-of-supporting-people-with-long-covid-our-government-funds-a-genocide/): My final rejection for disability benefits was sent to me in March 2024, during Israel’s horrific, ongoing genocide in Gaza. Before becoming disabled with Long COVID, I worked full-time in the movement for Palestinian liberation. My father is Palestinian, born in the Old City of Jerusalem, and I grew up with stories about the steadfast resistance of my people — starting with my grandparents surviving extermination in the 1948 Nakba as young children. My Palestinian family prepared me for disability, for understanding that sometimes just existing in a body deemed undesirable is a form of struggle.
- [Still Here, January 17: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/01/17/still-here-january-17-links-and-transcript/): Freelance reporter and Long COVID patient advocate Sam Rhodehamel discusses Mask Bloc LA and Clean Air LA helping protect L.A.-area residents during wildfires.
- [‘They bungled it:’ NIH documents reveal how $1.6 billion Long Covid initiative has failed so far to meet its goals](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/05/31/they-bungled-it-nih-documents-reveal-how-1-6-billion-long-covid-initiative-has-failed-so-far-to-meet-its-goals/): In February 2021, the National Institutes of Health launched a new $1 billion initiative to study Long Covid, a chronic disease that has changed the lives of millions of Americans. Three years later, the NIH initiative, called RECOVER, has not met these goals, according to a detailed review of budget and planning documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act and shared with Long Covid experts. RECOVER’s research into Long Covid’s underlying biology has lagged behind that of privately-funded scientists; it has failed to provide reliable estimates of how many people have Long Covid; and clinical trials, launched last summer, garnered extensive criticism for failing to test promising treatments.
- [Immune system damage from COVID-19 is different from HIV/AIDS — but the advocacy has parallels](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/01/14/immune-system-damage-from-covid-19-is-different-from-hiv-aids-but-the-advocacy-has-parallels/): Lymphopenia is a health condition in which people have low white blood cell count in their blood. Without these cells, the body is unable to defend itself effectively against pathogens. Lymphopenia is one type of way your body can be immunocompromised; it can be caused by many things, including infections, inherited conditions, autoimmune disorders, and nutritional deficiencies. Earlier in the pandemic, scientists learned that some patients can develop lymphopenia from SARS-CoV-2 infection — but there’s been little research into it since. Although this condition is more rarely seen in COVID-19 as compared to HIV/AIDS, some advocates have suggested the two diseases are similar in their damage to the immune system.
- [Research updates, January 14](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/01/14/research-updates-january-14/): Last Friday, the National Institutes of Health’s RECOVER-Treating Long COVID (RECOVER-TLC) initiative held a webinar to share updates. TLC has started to form working groups, which are meeting this and next month to discuss potential Long COVID treatments for clinical trials. People with Long COVID, researchers, and clinicians have submitted over 400 potential treatments to
- [National COVID-19 trends, January 14](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/01/14/national-covid-19-trends-january-14/): The U.S.’s winter COVID-19 surge continues. Some data sources suggest that we may be close to the peak of this wave, but it will be another week or two before that pattern is clear. Even if we continue to see a lower disease burden than usual for the winter, SARS-CoV-2 still causes an outsized risk of severe disease and disability compared to other common viruses.
- [Still Here, January 10: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/01/10/still-here-january-10-links-and-transcript/): Investigative journalist and author Violet Blue discusses the COVID Safety Handbook. Also, the latest COVID-19 numbers, and looking at longer Paxlovid courses.
- [COVID-19 advocates are distributing masks to protect Californians from wildfire smoke](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/01/10/covid-19-advocates-are-distributing-masks-to-protect-californians-from-wildfire-smoke/): As the skies of Los Angeles filled with smoke this week from multiple raging wildfires, many residents quickly recognized failures in local and state governments’ ability to protect them from hazardous air pollution. Community members from local COVID-19 advocacy and mutual aid groups stepped in to fill this gap, providing stockpiled respirators and information about
- [National COVID-19 trends, January 7](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/01/07/national-covid-19-trends-january-7/): As usual for this time of year, we’re in the midst of a winter COVID-19 surge. Infections are increasing across the U.S., driven by holiday travel and gatherings; as data are reported with delays, it will be weeks before we see the full impact of the holidays on severe disease and deaths — and even longer before we understand the impact on Long COVID. Other diseases, including the flu, RSV, and norovirus, are spreading widely right now, too.
- [Research updates, January 7](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/01/07/research-updates-january-7/): A new Long COVID clinical trial called CLEAR-LC is recruiting to test the efficacy of the drug abrocitinib. Abrocitinib is a JAK inhibitor — a type of drug that modulates the immune system — like baricitinib, which is also being studied in a clinical trial for the disease called REVERSE-LC. The abrocitinib study, located in
- [How America lost control of the bird flu, setting the stage for another pandemic](https://thesicktimes.org/2025/01/06/how-america-lost-control-of-the-bird-flu-setting-the-stage-for-another-pandemic/): Nearly a year into the first outbreak of the bird flu among cattle, the virus shows no sign of slowing. The U.S. government failed to eliminate the virus on dairy farms when it was confined to a handful of states, by quickly identifying infected cows and taking measures to keep their infections from spreading. Now at least 875 herds across 16 states have tested positive.
- [National COVID-19 trends, December 24](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/12/24/national-covid-19-trends-december-24/): COVID-19 and other viruses continue to spread more across the U.S., as cold weather and holidays continue to drive travel and indoor gatherings. Since public health agencies take holiday breaks, COVID-19 data will be reported with delays over the next two weeks — so it’s important to remember that current levels are likely higher than what you see reported nationally and for your community.
- [“Hardest f—kin years of my life”: Comedian Casey Frey says he may have Long COVID ](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/12/24/hardest-f-kin-years-of-my-life-comedian-casey-frey-says-he-may-have-long-covid/): Earlier this week, comedian, actor, and dancer Casey Frey disclosed to that he may have Long COVID to his nearly two million Instagram followers. Frey became a popular public figure after creating videos on the now-defunct social media app, Vine, before starring in music videos by Tiësto and The Knocks. The 31-year-old has also appeared
- [Research updates, December 24](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/12/24/research-updates-december-24/): A 2020 paper that spread controversial claims about the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19 was retracted last week. Published in the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, the paper was pulled for ethical concerns and other methodological problems. Earlier in the pandemic, the paper led to shortages of the drug for people with Lupus, which hydroxychloroquine also commonly treats.
- [Dr. Gemma Carey, Australian public health scholar and Long COVID advocate, dies at 43](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/12/23/dr-gemma-carey-australian-public-health-scholar-and-long-covid-advocate-dies-at-43/): Dr. Gemma Carey, an Australian academic, author, Long COVID advocate, and disability rights activist from Canberra, passed away on November 24, 2024, at the age of 43. Her work in public health, disability rights, and social justice had a profound impact on the communities she served, particularly those marginalized by conventional healthcare systems.
- [Still Here, December 20: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/12/20/still-here-december-20-links-and-transcript/): Little support and no approved treatments for people with Long COVID have pushed some to turned to online drug markets to improve their quality of life.
- [Still Here, December 3: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/12/03/still-here-december-3-links-and-transcript/): This week, co-host Betsy Ladyzhets talks with producer James Salanga about what the potential Long COVID research landscape could look like under Trump. reporting to map out the potential landscape.
- [Long COVID Essentials: New resources published](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/12/19/long-covid-essentials-new-resources-published/): We are thrilled to release the next batch of resources in our Long COVID Essentials series, featuring 32 new sheets! Our first batch of resources in Spanish is now live, along with the remaining English resources. Long COVID Essentials is a collaboration between Long COVID Justice and The Sick Times. The series includes 30+ resource sheets that provide foundational information about navigating Long COVID. Each sheet is (or will be) available in both Spanish and English, with both web and printable PDF versions.
- [California Governor Gavin Newsom declares state of emergency for bird flu](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/12/18/california-governor-gavin-newsom-declares-state-of-emergency-for-bird-flu/): California Governor Gavin Newsom declares State of Emergency for bird flu Earlier today, Governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed a State of Emergency in California in response to prepare for the potential threat of bird flu, also known as Avian influenza A (H5N1). The Governor’s office said the emergency declaration will help state and local agencies better
- [Research updates, December 17](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/12/17/research-updates-december-17/): The National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) RECOVER program will receive an additional $147 million for Long COVID research, building on $515 million allocated earlier this year. Much of this additional funding, totaling $662 million in 2024, will be spent on new clinical trials through the program’s RECOVER-Treating Long COVID (RECOVER-TLC) initiative. Read more about the
- [“Marching from home”: New rock musical embodies the challenges and resistance of people with energy-limiting diseases](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/12/17/marching-from-home-new-rock-musical-embodies-the-challenges-and-resistance-of-people-with-energy-limiting-diseases/): Last weekend, a lucky group of disabled and chronically ill theatergoers in New York City attended a show that reflected their experiences and access needs. The new, non-narrative rock musical, called “Dan Fishback is Alive, Unwell, and Living in his Apartment,” ran for two sold-out performances at the Public Theater’s Joe’s Pub on Saturday and Sunday.
- [National COVID-19 trends, December 17](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/12/17/national-covid-19-trends-december-17/): COVID-19 cases are definitively increasing across the U.S. This year’s winter wave started late and lower than expected, but is clearly picking up now — the risk of infection will likely be high everywhere by the time people travel and gather for holidays at the end of December. For now, the Midwest and Northeast continue to report higher disease levels than the other regions.
- [Still Here, December 13: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/12/13/still-here-december-13-links-and-transcript/): This week, playwright and rock musician Dan Fishback talks with The Sick Times' Heather Hogan on his new production about living with ME/CFS in a pandemic.
- [NIH announces $147 million in additional Long COVID research funding, new budget details](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/12/12/nih-announces-147-million-in-additional-long-covid-research-funding-new-budget-details/): The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced further funding for its flagship Long COVID research program, called RECOVER, as well as new details about the program’s budget through 2029. RECOVER will receive an additional $147 million, building on $515 million allocated earlier this year and the original $1.15 billion funded by Congress in
- [My Mom was disabled by ME, but I didn’t understand until I developed Long COVID. I wrote an apology letter to her.](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/12/10/my-mom-was-disabled-by-me-but-i-didnt-understand-until-i-developed-long-covid-i-wrote-an-apology-letter-to-her/): Dear Mom, Thirty years later, I finally understand. Do you remember the year 1994? You got sick when I was a child, and you weren’t ever the same again. At first, it was a cough and congestion But as days gathered into weeks, you spent more time in bed Why are you so tired, I asked myself. What happened to you, Mom?
- [Research updates, December 10](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/12/10/research-updates-december-10/): A new study of nearly 10,000 people with Long COVID confirms what many with the disease already know: Long COVID can cause severe financial burden. Published in Health Services Research, researchers analyzed the results of a survey that assessed food insecurity, inability to pay bills, and threat of losing utility service. They found that the
- [National COVID-19 trends, December 10](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/12/10/national-covid-19-trends-december-10/): The U.S.’s winter COVID-19 surge is underway, particularly in the Midwest and Northeast. While infections are increasing, current disease levels remain much lower than typical for this time of year, indicating that we are likely to see a less intense surge than in the last couple of winters. Other pathogens are spreading right now, too.
- [“It’s not an individual problem, it’s everyone’s”: Matt McGorry shares his experience with Long COVID](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/12/09/its-not-an-individual-problem-its-everyones-matt-mcgorry-shares-his-experience-with-long-covid/): This fall, activist and actor Matt McGorry disclosed on social media that he has Long COVID in an educational, two-part video series. In the videos, shared with over a million followers, McGorry talked about his experience with the disease and summarized key scientific information. He described the project as a “catch-up” for viewers unaware of Long COVID and as a way to preserve his emotional and physical energy in explaining the disease for people in his life.
- [We talked to a veteran lawyer about applying for disability insurance with Long COVID and ME](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/12/03/we-talked-to-a-veteran-lawyer-about-applying-for-disability-insurance-with-long-covid-and-me/): To learn more about the disability insurance system, Betsy Ladyzhets spoke to Barbara Comerford, a long-time disability lawyer based in New Jersey who specializes in these cases. Comerford has represented people with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), for more than 30 years, including high-profile cases like that of journalist Brian Vastag.
- [Research updates, December 3](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/12/03/research-updates-december-3/): A new study in Cell Host & Microbe found persistent SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in the skull bone marrow and tissues that protect the brain of people with COVID-19. Scientists used cutting-edge technology to make the discovery, and also found biomarkers of neurodegeneration in the cerebrospinal fluid of people with Long COVID. “Our findings suggest persistent
- [National COVID-19 trends, December 3](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/12/03/national-covid-19-trends-december-3/): As expected, the U.S.’s winter surge is getting started, though disease levels are still lower than usual for this time of year. Our latest data are from the week leading up to Thanksgiving, so these numbers don’t yet reflect travel and gatherings for the holiday — we’ll see that in future updates. Meanwhile, other viruses, including the bird flu H5N1, continue to spread.
- [Special edition zine: One year of The Sick Times](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/12/02/special-edition-zine-one-year-of-the-sick-times/): We made a zine! To celebrate our first anniversary, we commissioned artist Katie Drackert to create a printable mini-magazine of our first year’s highlights, as well as top Long COVID and COVID-19 resources. Please print it and distribute it widely!
- [National COVID-19 trends, November 26](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/11/26/national-covid-19-trends-november-26/): Here are the latest national COVID-19 trends, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and major wastewater surveillance providers: About 1.5 in every 100,000 people were hospitalized for COVID-19 during the week ending November 9. (Note that these are provisional data.) COVID-19 test positivity has decreased 7%, from 4.0% of COVID-19
- [Research updates, November 26](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/11/26/research-updates-november-26/): A recent study in Frontiers in Medicine found evidence that SARS-CoV-2 can replicate in the placenta after maternal infection at any point of pregnancy. The study included 61 participants and 10 controls; severe replication was shown in 4.91% of the placentas, with low to moderate replication in 19.67%. “Replication was maximal in cases of stillbirth,
- [“Don’t give up hope”: Long COVID advocates and researchers say crucial work will continue under Trump](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/11/26/dont-give-up-hope-long-covid-advocates-and-researchers-say-crucial-work-will-continue-under-trump/): As incoming President Donald Trump has announced a growing list of top nominees who’ve denied science and public health, people with Long COVID are preparing for an administration likely to be less friendly for research and advocacy. Along with Trump in power, Republican majorities in the House and Senate may lead to reduced funding for federal health programs, worse odds for new legislation, misinformation, and other challenges, advocates say.
- [Still Here, November 22: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/11/22/still-here-november-22-links-and-transcript/): This week, reporter Simon Spichak talks about his coverage of the lack of pediatric clinical trials for Long COVID. Also in this episode: the latest COVID-19 numbers, results from the BC 007 clinical trial, and REVERSE-LC begins recruitment.
- [Still Here, November 15: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/11/15/still-here-november-15-links-and-transcript/): This week, we celebrate one year of The Sick Times! Also: the latest COVID-19 numbers, and the Fall 2024 PolyBio Symposium on Long COVID Research.
- [Video essay: Taipei on what it's like being a drag artist with Long COVID](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/11/22/video-essay-taipei-on-what-its-like-being-a-drag-artist-with-long-covid/): In our first video essay for The Sick Times, drag artist Taipei talks about how Long COVID impacts her work as a performer and how many spaces are inaccessible for disabled performers due to a lack of COVID-19 precautions. Transcript: What's it like to be a drag artist living with Long COVID? Let's talk about
- [Missing the gig: When your subculture leaves you behind with Long COVID](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/11/15/missing-the-gig-when-your-subculture-leaves-you-behind-with-long-covid/): “Maybe now vocalists will finally start bringing their own mics,” I tweeted in the first days of March 2020. My virtual audience was mostly friends I met by participating in subcultures in and adjacent to the DIY tendency of hardcore punk rock. In those early days, we on the cultural fringes shared a sense that
- [Advocacy groups suspend ties with U.K. charity The ME Association over chairman’s op-ed](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/11/22/advocacy-groups-suspend-ties-with-u-k-charity-the-me-association-over-chairmans-op-ed/): Earlier this month, the chairman of the United Kingdom charity the ME Association, Neil Riley, published a controversial op-ed in the charity’s magazine arguing that many people with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) should increase their movement, counter to research and people’s lived experiences. People with the disease say Riley belittled the reality of severe ME and made statements that go against the science of the disease. The article caused ME advocacy groups and campaigns including Long COVID Advocacy and #ThereforME to suspend their support of the ME Association.
- [RECOVER-TLC is moving toward new clinical trials, initiative leaders share in webinar](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/11/21/recover-tlc-is-moving-toward-new-clinical-trials-initiative-leaders-share-in-webinar/): In a webinar on Thursday, leaders from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) shared updates from RECOVER-Treating Long COVID (RECOVER-TLC), an initiative that will launch new clinical trials to study Long COVID. Speakers discussed early results from an online portal in which Long
- [Why are there almost no clinical trials for kids with Long COVID?](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/11/19/why-are-there-almost-no-clinical-trials-for-kids-with-long-covid/): Experts who spoke with The Sick Times brought up many different reasons why developing new drugs for children with Long COVID has moved at such a glacial pace. Many pharmaceutical companies might not see Long COVID as profitable. And running trials in children is complex and expensive, as they can have different symptoms and underlying biological processes behind those symptoms from adults. “I want more clinical trials focused on cures and effective treatments. We want treatments that are actually getting at the underlying causes and not just sticking a band aid on symptoms,” Katherine, a parent of a 16-year old with Long COVID told The Sick Times.
- [National COVID-19 trends, November 19](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/11/19/national-covid-19-trends-november-19/): COVID-19 levels are much lower than normal for this time of year as the U.S. remains in a plateau between surges — though note that lower than normal still means much higher than the true lows we experienced earlier in the pandemic. Meanwhile, respiratory viruses like flu and RSV are starting to pick up. While these seasonal viruses are less likely to cause severe outcomes than COVID-19, they are still worth precautions, especially as H5N1 continues to spread.
- [Research updates, November 19](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/11/19/research-updates-november-19/): The highly anticipated Phase 2 clinical trial for the synthetic DNA compound BC 007 showed no efficacy for treating Long COVID. The drug, made by the European company Berlin Cures, was designed to neutralize functional autoantibodies (fAABs), which have been found in people with Long COVID. “The analyses of the main endpoints did not show
- [Research updates, November 12](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/11/12/research-updates-november-12/): Two new studies increase our understanding of the consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy. One study in Molecular Psychology found that maternal COVID-19 increases the incidence of neurodevelopmental disorders in children. “Our findings support a model where the maternal COVID-19 infection changed the levels of CD4 proliferating T cells, leading to the alterations of astrocytes,
- [National COVID-19 trends, November 12](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/11/12/national-covid-19-trends-november-12/): Our moderate lull between surges continues. COVID-19 levels in the U.S. remain lower than typical for this time of year — though still much higher than the true lows in 2020-2021. While the expected winter wave has not picked up yet, it remains important to take precautions against SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses, particularly as H5N1 continues to spread.
- [The trouble with recovery stories](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/11/11/the-trouble-with-recovery-stories/): Recovery stories have been popular in the media lately. Two recent stories have evoked a wide range of reactions among those with ME, with some gaining hope from them and supporting the right for everyone to share their experiences as they choose; and others feeling let down by narratives that arguably perpetuate negative stereotypes about the illness.
- [Still Here, November 10: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/11/10/still-here-november-10-links-and-transcript/): In this episode: Disability visibility via SICK Pride in South Africa and The Sick Times' end-of-year fundraiser.
- [Still Here, November 1: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/11/01/still-here-november-1-links-and-transcript/): This week, listen to oral histories from mask bloc organizers interspersed with some context from journalist and author Britta Shoot.
- [Research updates, November 5](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/11/05/research-updates-november-5/): Polybio Research Foundation awarded Mount Sinai’s Cohen Center for Recovery from Complex Chronic Illnesses (CoRE) $800,000 for a new clinical trial to study the immunosuppressive drug, rapamycin. The FDA-approved, generic drug is commonly used to prevent organ rejection after kidney transplant but has also been touted as an “anti-aging” drug. “​​Low-dose rapamycin is an exciting
- [National COVID-19 trends, November 5](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/11/05/national-covid-19-trends-november-5/): The U.S. remains at a moderate point between surges. Following two months of clear declines, COVID-19 metrics now indicate a plateau, suggesting we are unlikely to see disease spread get much lower before a widely-anticipated winter wave begins. As I’ve said in previous weeks, much more virus is circulating during this lull than during true lows earlier in the pandemic.
- [A brief, oral history of mask blocs: Part 3](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/10/29/a-brief-oral-history-of-mask-blocs-part-3/): U.S. government officials began introducing mask ban proposals and legislation during the summer and fall of 2024, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has killed at least 40,000 Americans this year. Mask blocs in impacted regions were sometimes the only groups poised or willing to respond. In this final piece of a three-part series, mask bloc organizers describe campaigns to fight against mask criminalization and how they are personally affected by these threats and new laws.
- [Still Here, October 11: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/10/11/still-here-october-11-links-and-transcript/): This episode honors Tinu Abayomi-Paul, who was “so funny … and so clever” and “wonderful at supporting disabled people in a beautiful and authentic way.”
- [Still Here, October 18: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/10/18/still-here-october-18-links-and-transcript/): This week, a look at the new Long COVID and complex disease center at Mount Sinai, with commentary from co-hosts Betsy Ladyzhets and Miles Griffis.
- [Still Here, October 25: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/10/25/still-here-october-25-links-and-transcript/): This week, co-hosts Betsy Ladyzhets and Miles Griffis talk with podcast producer James Salanga about an Australian clinical trial looking at low-dose naltrexone for people living with Long COVID and ME.
- [Research updates, October 29](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/10/29/research-updates-october-29/): Long COVID may be a national security issue. A Lancet Regional Health: Americas study of nearly 900 United States Marines found that 25% developed Long COVID after their SARS-CoV-2 infections. Compared with a pre-pandemic cohort and an uninfected cohort, Long COVID had a “measurable” effect on the physical fitness of Marines. “The Marines affected with
- [National COVID-19 trends, October 29](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/10/29/national-covid-19-trends-october-29/): Our quieter period between surges continues. Most COVID-19 data sources report that disease spread remains moderate and decreasing in the U.S., but some metrics indicate that spread could be starting to increase again in a few states. This remains a good time to get up-to-date on vaccines and prepare for a likely winter surge; though it’s important to remember that these moderate periods between waves are still much higher than true times of low COVID-19 spread earlier in the pandemic.
- [A brief, oral history of mask blocs: Part 2](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/10/08/a-brief-oral-history-of-mask-blocs-part-2/): Established mask blocs — mutual aid groups distributing high-quality respirator masks for free — often support newer blocs with educational materials or mask stock to get started. In part two of our three-part series, organizers describe how they created resources for other blocs to get started, including a collaborative, in-depth zine co-authored by bloc members and solo mask distributors from North America and Europe. Additionally, organizers explain how they source, store, and distribute enormous amounts of high-quality respirator masks, such as N95s, as well as huge quantities of rapid tests obtained from government entities.
- [A brief, oral history of mask blocs: Part 1](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/09/10/a-brief-oral-history-of-mask-blocs-part-1/): Mask blocs are grassroots mutual aid groups that distribute high-quality masks, such as N95s, for free in response to public health failures during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Many were created and are led by disabled people, many of whom had little or no prior organizing experience. Many include organizers who have Long COVID. Most of the earliest mask distribution groups formed in late 2022 and early 2023. In this first piece of a three-part oral history series, mask bloc organizers across the United States explain their personal and organizing backgrounds, and what being in a mask bloc means to them.
- [Why aren’t public health officials telling people about the fertility cost of COVID-19 and Long COVID?](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/10/28/why-arent-public-health-officials-telling-people-about-the-fertility-cost-of-covid-19-and-long-covid/): “Come back to me when you start wanting children,” my gynecologist said. I had asked about the implications on fertility, thanks to my Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) diagnosis — and was dismissed once again. It enveloped me with such despair. For over two years I was shunted between varying medical offices, from primary care to an STI clinic. Among many disabling symptoms, I was experiencing hair loss and excessive hair growth along my jawline since my SARS-C0V-2 infection. After developing Long COVID in March 2022, doctors considered me a “medical curiosity” and tested me endlessly, leading to wrong diagnosis after wrong diagnosis. I was prescribed medication after medication, but nothing seemed to help.
- [Clinical trials explore how Low-Dose Naltrexone could help people with Long COVID](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/10/18/clinical-trials-explore-how-low-dose-naltrexone-could-help-people-with-long-covid/): Observational studies suggest Low-Dose Naltrexone may benefit some people with Long COVID and ME. People with these diseases have shared their experiences with LDN in online communities, reflecting the value of patient knowledge. Now, LDN is attracting growing interest from researchers. Current clinical trials include a Long COVID study in Australia, a Spanish study focused on women with fibromyalgia, a U.S. study involving people with ME, and a Canadian study targeting fatigue in people with Long COVID. Tracking a more expansive list of symptoms, the Australian LDN trial builds on prior work by the same lab examining links between Long COVID and ME.
- [Research updates, October 22](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/10/22/research-updates-october-22/): A new online survey of over 74,000 people in China found that reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 was associated with milder symptoms but led to a higher incidence and severity of Long COVID. “This extends previous findings that reinfection raises ultimate mortality and the risk of severe illness, while also leading to Long COVID,” the study’s authors
- [National COVID-19 trends, October 22](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/10/22/national-covid-19-trends-october-22/): The U.S. continues to be in a lull of moderate COVID-19 spread between the summer and winter surges. While disease levels may be somewhat lower than this time last year (according to wastewater surveillance), they are still much higher than the true periods of low spread we experienced in 2020 and 2021.
- [Research updates, October 1](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/10/01/research-updates-october-1/): A new Patient-Led Research Collaborative preprint* found that COVID-19 reinfections increase the likelihood of Long COVID and related diseases. “While vaccinations and boosters prior to infection are associated with lower likelihood of Long COVID, reinfections diminish their protective effect,” the authors wrote. Read more about reinfections from our reporting earlier this year, featuring one of
- [Solange Knowles thanks chronic illness community, shares POTS, MCAS, and Sjögren's diagnoses](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/10/18/solange-knowles-thanks-chronic-illness-community-shares-pots-mcas-and-sjorgens-diagnoses/): Earlier this week, Grammy-award winning musician Solange Knowles briefly shared three diagnoses and paid gratitude to the chronic illness community. Knowles replied in the comments of a Shaun Ross Instagram post that detailed his experience with Long COVID and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). The singer wrote that she was also diagnosed with POTS, as
- [Tinu Abayomi-Paul, writer, disability advocate, and person with Long COVID, dies at 52](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/10/04/tinu-abayomi-paul-writer-disability-advocate-and-person-with-long-covid-dies-at-52/): Atinuke “Tinu” Abayomi-Paul, a prominent writer and disability advocate, died on September 26 at home in Texas. She was 52. Abayomi-Paul was well known in the Long COVID and disability community for her writing, speaking, and mutual aid organizing. She was the founder of Everywhere Accessible, an advocacy organization which she launched in 2019 to
- [New Long COVID and complex disease center at Mount Sinai set to be a leader in research, clinical care](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/10/15/new-long-covid-and-complex-disease-center-at-mount-sinai-set-to-be-a-leader-in-research-clinical-care/): Last week, a new center serving people with Long COVID and related complex chronic diseases opened at Mount Sinai Health System in New York City. Led by Dr. David Putrino, the center will be a hub for diagnosing these diseases, helping patients manage their symptoms, and running clinical trials of novel treatments. The Cohen Center for Recovery From Complex Chronic Illnesses (CoRE) builds upon prior work by Putrino and his colleagues at Mount Sinai, as well as work by collaborators across research and patient communities.
- [Kamala Harris responds to voter with Long COVID](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/10/11/kamala-harris-responds-to-voter-with-long-covid/): Last night during a town hall with the Spanish-language news network Univision, Vice President and presidential nominee Kamala Harris received a question from a person with Long COVID who applied for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) three years ago and still hasn’t received a decision on her case. Martha, who is 62, had a heart
- [Research updates, October 15](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/10/15/research-updates-october-15/): A new study found that COVID-19 increased the risk of heart attack, stroke, and death, up to three years after acute infection — though the researchers warned that the risks could persist longer. Electronic health records of over 10,000 people showed that those who developed COVID-19 early in the pandemic had double the risk of
- [National COVID-19 trends, October 15](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/10/15/national-covid-19-trends-october-15/): Following the same trends as the last few weeks, COVID-19 declines continue across all regions of the U.S. We are still in a lull of moderate spread between surges, making it a good time to stock up on safety supplies and prepare for the winter. Even with lower current infections, though, deaths and disability from the summer continue to climb: the CDC reported an average of 1,000 COVID-19 deaths a week in August and September.
- [Filmmaker Jesse Ridgway shares experience with Long COVID with millions of followers](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/10/14/filmmaker-jesse-ridgway-shares-experience-with-long-covid-with-millions-of-followers/): Filmmaker and popular YouTuber Jesse Ridgway, 32, recently shared his year-long experience with Long COVID on social media. Well known as “McJuggerNuggets” on YouTube, Ridgway has accumulated over two billion views on his videos and gathered more than four million subscribers on his channel. He is also an award-winning filmmaker, currently working as an executive
- [Still Here, October 4: Links and transcript](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/10/04/still-here-10-4-2024-links-and-transcript/): The podcast pilot covers the latest COVID-19 numbers, last week's NIH RECOVER-TLC meeting, and a nasal spray effective at blocking respiratory viruses.
- [National COVID-19 trends, October 8](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/10/08/national-covid-19-trends-october-8/): In the U.S., COVID-19 spread remains on the decline across all parts of the country. While levels are still moderately high, this and the next couple of weeks are likely to have the lowest COVID-19 levels we see for a while (before an anticipated winter surge picks up). If you’ve been putting off appointments for a lower-spread period, this may be a slightly better time to get them in — but the risk of infection still remains.
- [Research updates, October 8](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/10/08/research-updates-october-8/): A Life study of over 700 people with Long COVID found a significant disruption in blood supply to peripheral tissues. The disruption is caused by microvascular loss and hemodynamic decrease and can lead to hypoxia among other outcomes, the study stated. The author proposed that this disruption was the principal cause of Long COVID. Co-investigators
- [Nursing aides plagued by PTSD after ‘nightmare’ COVID conditions, with little help](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/10/03/nursing-aides-plagued-by-ptsd-after-nightmare-covid-conditions-with-little-help/): A KFF Health News investigation (republished by The Sick Times) reveals that employers and the government have offered nursing aides little assistance for PTSD and other ongoing maladies triggered by hazardous work during the pandemic.
- [“A good step”: Long COVID advocates and researchers respond to the RECOVER-Treating Long COVID meeting](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/10/01/a-good-step-long-covid-advocates-and-researchers-respond-to-the-recover-treating-long-covid-meeting/): Last week, a research symposium in Bethesda, Maryland kicked off RECOVER-Treating Long COVID, a new phase of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)’s flagship research program. The meeting included three days packed with research presentations and panel discussions aiming to advance clinical trials for the disease and capture feedback from people with Long COVID, many of whom have been critical of the $1.6 billion effort. Following our live blog of the meeting, The Sick Times asked speakers and attendees to share reflections on the event.
- [National COVID-19 trends, October 1](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/10/01/national-covid-19-trends-october-1/): COVID-19 spread is still declining from this summer’s peak, with wastewater and healthcare system data showing decreases across regions. Disease levels are unlikely to drop too much further, though, before a new variant and cold weather behavior contribute to a winter surge.
- [Five reasons why the NIH should retract the “effort preference” claims in their intramural ME/CFS paper](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/09/27/five-reasons-why-the-nih-should-retract-the-effort-preference-claims-in-their-intramural-me-cfs-paper/): In February, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published a controversial paper that aimed to characterize myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The study, published in Nature Communications, took eight years and cost $8 million. Participants flew in from all over the country and went through intense testing on NIH’s Bethesda,
- [Live blog: Following the RECOVER-Treating Long COVID kickoff event](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/09/23/live-blog-following-the-recover-treating-long-covid-kickoff-event/): This week, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) starts a new phase of RECOVER, its flagship, $1.6-billion Long COVID research program. RECOVER has convened leading scientists in a three-day meeting to advance new clinical trials. Following the program’s launch in 2021, RECOVER has drawn criticism for moving slowly and failing to support promising clinical
- [Millions of Americans have Long COVID. Will Kamala Harris acknowledge them?](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/09/24/millions-of-americans-have-long-covid-will-harris-take-action/): Advocates say that people with Long COVID, a potentially debilitating chronic disease that can impact all parts of the body, represent a growing voting bloc in this year's presidential election. Leaders from Long COVID advocacy groups and the broader disability community are considering how to make their case to Harris’ staff, with a particular interest in Anastasia Somoza — a disability advocate who was hired for the engagement director role — and Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate who has championed Long COVID research as governor of Minnesota.
- [Research updates, September 24](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/09/24/research-updates-september-24/): Two new studies add further evidence to show Metformin, a drug commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes, may help reduce the risk of Long COVID. An electronic health records study published in Diabetes Care of 75,000 people showed a lower rate of Long COVID of those taking Metformin for type 2 diabetes. A recent
- [National COVID-19 trends, September 24](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/09/24/national-covid-19-trends-september-24/): We’re still in the long, slow decline period of this summer’s COVID-19 surge. Disease spread remains high across the country as viral levels in wastewater, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations creep downward. We may get a brief lull in transmission before an inevitable winter surge, but levels are unlikely to drop far enough to really be considered low.
- [Introducing Long COVID Essentials, a new resource series](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/09/16/introducing-long-covid-essentials-a-new-resource-series/): We are excited to announce Long COVID Essentials, a new collaboration between The Sick Times and Long COVID Justice. Over the next several months, we’ll be publishing over 30 resource sheets that provide foundational information about navigating Long COVID. Each sheet can be printed and/or shared as digital PDFs.
- [For people with severe Long COVID, medical care is out of reach](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/09/17/for-people-with-severe-long-covid-medical-care-is-out-of-reach/): Getting medical help for any severity of Long COVID is challenging. The disease can manifest as over 200 different symptoms, ranging in severity from mildly impacting quality of life to completely debilitating. For those in the most severe categories — who are barely or completely unable to leave their beds — accessing quality care is nearly impossible. Their struggles reveal yawning gaps in a medical system that chronically ill people have been falling through for decades.
- [Research updates, September 17](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/09/17/research-updates-september-17/): Research updates for the week of September 17 include COVID-19 causing diabetes, a new potential method for curbing transmission, and a new network supporting pandemic preparedness research.
- [National COVID-19 trends, September 17](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/09/17/national-covid-19-trends-september-17/): This summer’s COVID-19 surge continues to wane slowly. Disease levels are still very high and may even be increasing in some regions across the U.S. The start of school and onset of colder weather are driving new outbreaks, while vaccination is unlikely to make a dent in transmission due to failures of access and communication.
- [Research updates, September 10](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/09/10/research-updates-september-10/): Research updates for September 10 include a new monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19, a new clinical trial for a drug targeting Long COVID neurological symptoms, and research on vaccination and Long COVID.
- [National COVID-19 trends, September 10](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/09/10/national-covid-19-trends-september-10/): The U.S.’s summer COVID-19 surge continues to slowly wane. While wastewater and healthcare system data have reported declines over the last couple of weeks, disease levels remain high across the U.S. — though you might not know it from looking at the CDC’s viral activity levels map, recently updated to an even more minimizing color scheme. Health officials are also on alert following a recent avian flu case.
- [Iconic musician Sérgio Mendes dies while battling Long COVID](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/09/07/iconic-musician-sergio-mendes-dies-while-battling-long-covid/): Los Angeles: World-renowned musician Sérgio Mendes, 83, died while fighting the effects of Long COVID, according to a recent statement by his family. “For the last several months,” the family wrote, “his health has been challenged by the effects of long term COVID.” Mendes died on September 5, surrounded by his partner, Gracinha Leporace Mendes,
- [“Perfect storm” of criminalization: Analyzing mask bans](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/09/03/perfect-storm-of-criminalization-analyzing-mask-bans/): While the conversation around mask bans has focused on new laws and bills, 21 states and many municipalities have laws banning masks and/or disguises in different settings, which is more than other organizations have reported. Even where these bans have apparent limitations or exemptions, the finer language of the laws leaves all COVID-conscious people vulnerable. And the historic practices of police endanger people even in states with no legal bans.
- [As a doctor, I’m disappointed in my colleagues for ignoring Long COVID. I made a resource to educate them and the public.](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/09/03/as-a-doctor-im-disappointed-in-my-colleagues-for-ignoring-long-covid-i-made-a-resource-to-educate-them-and-the-public/): As a family physician seeing COVID-19 in my practice, I came to recognize that so many of my colleagues and patients had no idea how to keep themselves safe from the coronavirus, nor were they aware of its long-term risks. I saw the need to take action and effect change, which ultimately led me to becoming an advocate for Long COVID awareness.
- [Research updates, September 3](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/09/03/research-updates-september-3/): Research updates for the week of September 3 include the role of blood clots in Long COVID, how the disease impacts people with preexisting disabilities, and blood tests for people with ME.
- [National COVID-19 trends, September 3](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/09/03/national-covid-19-trends-september-3/): Our COVID-19 picture in the U.S. remains mixed — though still at very high levels. Disease spread on the West Coast is finally in a clear downturn, putting an end to the region’s long and intense summer surge in sight, but infections are still increasing in other regions. And new vaccines are out (including Novavax), yet difficult to access.
- [Research updates, August 27](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/08/27/research-updates-august-20-2/): Research updates for the week of August 20 include Long COVID in children (one new study, one that was retracted!), and the symptom of internal tremors.
- [Even as a former executive assistant, managing care for Long COVID is a full-time job](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/08/27/even-as-a-former-executive-assistant-managing-care-for-long-covid-is-a-full-time-job/): Once upon a time, my job was being professionally organized. I was the executive assistant at a major corporation in Chicago. My job entailed various administrative duties, most of them revolving around keeping people organized and where they needed to be. I was excellent at it, made a good living, and mostly felt I was thriving. Flash forward to the fifth year of the pandemic and I’m now struggling to carry out these types of tasks for just myself. I’m nowhere close to thriving; I’m barely surviving. I have Long COVID. It’s left me unemployed, broke, and fighting to keep my head above water.
- [National COVID-19 trends, August 27](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/08/27/national-covid-19-trends-august-27/): Has this summer’s COVID-19 surge peaked yet? My answer this week is maybe, but it depends on where you live: disease levels appear to be declining or steady in some regions, while still going up in others. Updated vaccines are now available, but months too late and too difficult to access to make a significant difference for this summer’s wave.
- [These are the drag artists and organizers fighting to make queer spaces more COVID safe](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/08/21/these-are-the-drag-artists-and-organizers-fighting-to-make-queer-spaces-more-covid-safe/): Guided by a strong commitment to community care, a diverse group of queer performers, drag kings, and other event organizers are filling the gaps of global government failure during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Through clean air organizations, mask requirements at shows, and other COVID-19 mitigation efforts, they are making public spaces more accessible and safer for everyone, all while selling out shows.
- [National COVID-19 trends, August 20](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/08/20/national-covid-19-trends-august-20/): This summer’s COVID-19 surge just keeps going. Disease levels remain very high and increasing across much of the U.S., according to wastewater surveillance and our limited healthcare system data. Meanwhile, mpox (formerly called monkeypox) has reemerged as a global health threat.
- [Research updates, August 20](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/08/20/research-updates-august-20/): Research updates for the week of August 20 include hearing loss following COVID-19, potential biomarkers from the body's vascular system, and recommendations for clinical trials.
- [Outdoor dining fades as pandemic persists — making public spaces even less accessible](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/08/20/outdoor-dining-fades-as-pandemic-persists-making-public-spaces-even-less-accessible/): Outdoor dining was seemingly everywhere earlier in the pandemic — but as policymakers and much of the public try to forget about COVID-19, spaces for people to gather with lesser risk of contracting the disabling and deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus grow rarer. That’s left individuals and communities who do not want to contract COVID-19 — including high risk people, people with Long COVID and other disabilities — with fewer and fewer options.
- [Sen. Bernie Sanders introduces $10 billion Long Covid Moonshot legislation to support research, healthcare, education](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/08/06/sen-bernie-sanders-introduces-10-billion-long-covid-moonshot-legislation-to-support-research-healthcare-education/): Last week, Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced the Long Covid Research Moonshot Act of 2024. The bill allocates $1 billion in federal funding per year for the next 10 years for Long Covid research, treatments, public health education, and expanded healthcare. A draft version of the Act received thousands of comments from the Long Covid community in April. The official legislation, which would establish a new program at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is co-sponsored by Democratic Sens. Tammy Duckworth, Ed Markey, Tina Smith, Peter Welch, and Tim Kaine, who has Long Covid.
- [Research updates, August 13](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/08/13/research-updates-august-13/): Research updates for the week of August 13 include investigating medical test results for Long Covid diagnostics, a potential cause of MIS-C, and a new estimate of Long Covid's impact on the global economy.
- [National Covid-19 trends, August 13](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/08/13/national-covid-19-trends-august-13/): Covid-19 continues to spread at stubbornly high levels across the U.S., as the summer surge shows few signs of slowing. Some epidemiologists and public health experts have expressed surprise at the height and length of this summer’s wave; of course, to anyone still taking precautions, it’s not shocking that the disease would spread unabated without widespread masking, testing, or other measures.
- [Grappling with Long COVID as an elite athlete](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/08/16/grappling-with-long-covid-as-an-elite-athlete/): Scientists are working to unravel the mechanisms behind Long COVID and some have turned to studying sports competitors to better understand how it affects intense physical performance. Now, their efforts are beginning to shed light on why Long COVID hits some athletes — especially those in endurance sports — so hard.
- [Q&A: NIH Director Dr. Monica Bertagnolli on next steps for RECOVER, future Long Covid research plans, and more](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/08/13/qa-nih-director-dr-monica-bertagnolli-on-next-steps-for-recover-future-long-covid-research-plans-and-more/): Betsy Ladyzhets spoke with Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in a wide-ranging interview discussing the agency’s efforts to further research into Long Covid and related diseases. In the interview, Bertagnolli described a new phase of RECOVER, called Treating Long Covid, which responds to the Long Covid community’s criticism with a renewed focus on innovative clinical trials. The Treating Long Covid program will launch next month with a three-day research meeting to discuss trial proposals, Bertagnolli said. This meeting will also be instrumental in planning how to use $515 million in additional funding allocated to RECOVER earlier this year.
- [Research updates, August 6](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/08/06/research-updates-august-6/): Research updates for the week of August 6 include promising news about a nasal vaccine candidate, a new review of Long Covid, and Covid-19 spread in wildlife.
- [National Covid-19 trends, August 6](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/08/06/national-covid-19-trends-august-6/): Covid-19 continues spreading wildly across the U.S., as our summer surge shows few signs of slowing. For some parts of the country, SARS-CoV-2 levels have far surpassed last summer and are even at or above last winter, as variants combined with our collective lack of mitigation measures drive ongoing spread. This is certainly not time for the banning important public health tools like masks, as local politicians in Nassau County, New York did yesterday.
- [In South Africa, Long Covid is an afterthought to Tuberculosis](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/08/01/in-south-africa-long-covid-is-an-afterthought-to-tuberculosis/): Tuberculosis (TB) and Long Covid are two diseases that have some overlapping symptoms. The two are often mistaken for each other in South Africa. Long Covid is poorly understood and acknowledged in South Africa, and mostly dismissed, say people living with the disease. And it’s worse if you’re Black and poor.
- [Research updates, July 30](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/07/30/research-updates-july-30/): Multiple infectious “hits” from viruses and bacteria may increase long-term neuroinflammatory damage, like fatigue and cognitive dysfunction, in people with Long Covid, a new study in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity found. Authors also found that brain exposure to SARS-CoV-2 may make people more vulnerable to different forms of autonomic dysfunction (or dysautonomia), including increased heart
- [National Covid-19 trends, July 30](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/07/30/national-covid-19-trends-july-30/): Our summer Covid-19 surge continues in the U.S., with wastewater surveillance and our limited testing data reporting high disease levels across the country. Reports from multiple wastewater data providers suggest that the disease is spreading at similar levels to or higher than the peak of last summer’s wave, even as mainstream media, government agencies, and major event organizers continue to downplay this threat.
- [Frustrations, denials, long drives: Immunocompromised people can’t access a lifesaving Covid-19 drug](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/07/30/frustrations-denials-long-drives-immunocompromised-people-cant-access-a-lifesaving-covid-19-drug/): A new drug approved months ago to help prevent Covid-19 infections could be a game changer for high-risk people — if they can get their hands on it. But many say they have struggled to access the medication.
- [Olympics volunteers resign over lack of Covid-19 precautions](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/07/29/olympics-volunteers-resign-over-lack-of-covid-19-precautions/): Earlier this month, a group of Olympic volunteers demanded Covid-19 precautions at the 2024 Paris Olympics, stating they would resign if precautions weren’t implemented. “Covid-19 pandemic threat denial is not an antidote to contamination,” the volunteers wrote in a press release. “If no steps are taken, we will collectively resign from our assignments, and will not show up on the Olympic and Paralympic sites we have been staffed.”
- [Research updates, July 23](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/07/23/research-updates-july-23/): Research updates for the week of July 23 include continued risk of Long Covid, microclots found in children, and a new clinical trial testing HIV antivirals.
- [Wastewater surveillance for Covid-19 keeps evolving. Here’s what you need to know.](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/07/23/wastewater-surveillance-for-covid-19-keeps-evolving-heres-what-you-need-to-know/): As governments have scaled back their tracking of Covid-19 — even as the pandemic continues — many people who still take precautions have increasingly relied on wastewater surveillance to follow disease trends. But wastewater data can be confusing and inconsistent, especially as surveillance programs change over time.
- [National Covid-19 trends, July 23](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/07/23/national-covid-19-trends-july-23/): Here are the latest national Covid-19 trends, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and major wastewater surveillance providers: About 3 in every 100,000 people were hospitalized for Covid-19 during the week ending July 6. (Note that these are provisional data.) Covid-19 test positivity has increased 11%, from 11.4% of Covid-19
- [Research updates, July 16](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/07/16/research-updates-july-16/): Research updates for the week of July 16 include viral persistence in people's guts, new studies from NIH RECOVER, and a phone survey by the Virginia Department of Health.
- [My daughter has Long Covid. It transformed me into an advocate for Long Covid kids.](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/07/16/my-daughter-has-long-covid-it-transformed-me-into-an-advocate-for-long-covid-kids/): The first few weeks of fifth grade were going smoothly for my ten-year-old daughter, until one evening when I found her lying still on the couch, flat on her tummy, not moving, nor uttering a single word. I called out her name a few times but got no response. I walked over to her, touched
- [Q&A: Behind the scenes of the Patient-Generated Hypotheses Journal with Vijay Iyer](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/07/05/qa-behind-the-scenes-of-the-patient-generated-hypotheses-journal-with-vijay-iyer/): Last week, the Patient-Led Research Collaborative (PLRC), the research organization led by people with Long Covid, published the second issue of its Patient-Generated Hypothesis Journal. This journal publishes scientific manuscripts that aim to advance research into Long Covid and related diseases by sharing novel ideas about potential mechanisms and treatments. Betsy Ladyzhets spoke to Vijay Iyer, one of the authors of the new journal issue and a neuroscientist who has Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), about his hypothesis, which describes a bacteria family called Streptococcaceae may be unusually common in the guts of people with ME.
- [National Covid-19 trends, July 16](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/07/16/national-covid-19-trends-july-16/): The U.S. is well into our summer Covid-19 surge: even the CDC’s wastewater dashboard now acknowledges that the country is facing high coronavirus activity. Yet most travel and gatherings continue without any precautions, making it easier for the latest variants to spread.
- [How the Apricot Tree Café became a leader in clean indoor air](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/07/02/how-the-apricot-tree-cafe-became-a-leader-in-clean-indoor-air/): Opened in 1993 in Mississauga, Ontario, the Apricot Tree Café has built a loyal customer base who love its European-influenced menus, from salads to schnitzel. Owned and operated by Austrian immigrant Franz Hochholdinger and his wife Esther, the café has grown from selling desserts on the basement level of a Toronto suburb shopping plaza to a prime 4,200-square-foot space offering breakfast, lunch and dinner. Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, however, the local favorite has seen its reputation grow beyond Mississauga as a leader in promoting cleaner, safer air quality for diners and staff. By improving its filtration and monitoring systems, the restaurant makes the dining experience safer by reducing the spread of airborne viruses like SARS-CoV-2.
- [Research updates, July 2](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/07/02/research-updates-july-2/): A new preprint from the National Institutes of Health’s RECOVER initiative found that children who had Covid-19 were at a higher risk of developing serious kidney problems later on, even if they had no previous kidney conditions. The study examined the electronic health records of more than 1.8 million children under age 21 between March
- [Don’t just breathe clean air, breathe it well](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/07/02/dont-just-breathe-clean-air-breathe-it-well/): It was my dentist who recommended that I read Breath, a nonfiction book that chronicles Nestor’s scientific and personal journey into the research and impacts of breath on the human body, the benefits of certain breathing techniques, and the detriments of others. He probably meant to publish it with the 50th anniversary of the Clean Air Act in the United States, not during a global airborne pandemic. But it was timely, all the same — it’s never been more important to understand how the ways we breathe impacts our health. By the end of the book, he argues that, “breath is a missing pillar of health” that should exist alongside what we eat and how we move our bodies, if we’re able.
- [National Covid-19 trends, July 2](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/07/02/national-covid-19-trends-july-2/): Covid-19 continues spreading widely across the U.S., as summer events like Pride festivities and music festivals continue largely without any collective safety measures. Wastewater surveillance shows that the virus is circulating at similar levels to last summer’s wave, with other parts of the country catching up to the West Coast.
- [Research updates, June 25](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/06/25/research-updates-june-25/): Research updates for the week of June 25 include immune system issues, neuropsychiatric outcomes, and a new study looking at online support groups.
- [My partner and I both have Long Covid. We tread the underworld together.](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/06/25/my-partner-and-i-both-have-long-covid-we-tread-the-underworld-together/): There’s a story in Greek mythology where Orpheus, a gifted poet and musician, travels to the underworld to rescue his newly wedded wife, Eurydice, who died after being bitten by a snake. They are both allowed to leave Hades under one condition: Eurydice must walk behind Orpheus, and he must not turn and look back
- [National Covid-19 trends, June 25](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/06/25/national-covid-19-trends-june-25/): Our annual summer Covid-19 wave continues in the U.S., with metrics showing increased viral levels in wastewater, more people testing positive, and more emergency department visits. SARS-CoV-2 levels may be leveling off on the West Coast after going up for several weeks, but other regions are now reporting increases.
- [The short reach of Long Covid care](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/06/21/the-short-reach-of-long-covid-care/): Latinos and African Americans suffer the nation's highest rates of Long Covid. Yet systematic health care inequality and poor outreach have resulted in clinics with mostly white patient lists. Editor’s note: This story was co-published by palabra., a media platform by the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), and WHYY's The Pulse. It was supported by The Commonwealth
- [What recovery? Long Covid's deep impact on Latinos](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/01/16/what-recovery-long-covids-deep-impact-on-latinos/): It’s called a mass-disabling event: One in five COVID-19 infections results in long COVID, with Latinos the most affected. As society and medicine largely ignore this lingering crisis, how prepared are we to care for a looming avalanche of Latino long-haulers? Editor's note: This story is part of a series produced in partnership between palabra., a media platform by the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), and Northwest Public Broadcasting (NWPB) with the collaboration of reporters Lygia Navarro and Johanna Bejarano. The Sick Times has republished it with permission from palabra.
- [Research updates, June 18](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/06/18/research-updates-june-18/): Research updates for the week of June 18 include vaccines for fall 2024, next generation vaccines, and disappointing clinical trial results for a Long Covid-triggered POTS treatment.
- [National Covid-19 trends, June 18](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/06/18/national-covid-19-trends-june-18/): California and nearby West Coast states continue to bear the brunt of this summer’s Covid-19 surge so far, with high wastewater levels and increasing burden on the healthcare system. Data signals are mixed for other parts of the country as newer variants continue to spread.
- [I developed Long Covid while I was pregnant. It took 15 months to get diagnosed.](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/06/18/i-developed-long-covid-while-i-was-pregnant-it-took-15-months-to-get-diagnosed/): Pregnancy is a time marked by a whirlwind of emotions — anticipation, hope, and excitement often accompanied by anxiety and silent prayers for a smooth journey. A decade into my marriage, I had finally conceived. My family welcomed the news with immense joy and great anticipation. However, the excitement came with a hue of caution as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. As my first trimester drew to a close in January of 2022, a sense of relief washed over me knowing that the statistical risk of miscarriages decreased significantly. However, during my fourth month, a sudden realization shattered my calm and filled me with a surge of panic — I couldn’t smell the familiar scent of my favorite shower gel. Two PCRs later, my worst fears were confirmed: I had contracted Covid-19.
- [New NASEM reports offer broad definition, highlight the seriousness of Long Covid](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/06/18/new-nasem-reports-offer-broad-definition-highlight-the-seriousness-of-long-covid/): The field of Long Covid research reached a major milestone last week with the release of a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) outlining a working definition of the disease.
- [New Long Covid and ME apps aim to share information, build community](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/06/11/new-long-covid-and-me-apps-aim-to-share-information-build-community/): Two new applications designed for people with Long Covid and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) offer opportunities to share information about the diseases and build community, outside of the larger social media platforms that some people find overwhelming and unhelpful. Both platforms, Turnto Long Covid and NURA Community, were designed with input from people with Long Covid. Turnto Long Covid is a new, custom-made application that follows the company’s similar app for people with cerebral palsy, while NURA Community customizes an existing platform with a Long Covid and ME-specific space.
- [Research updates, June 11](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/06/11/research-updates-june-11/): Research updates for the week of June 11 include results from a Paxlovid clinical trial, cognitive impairment, and a small trial testing a gap junction modulator.
- [National Covid-19 trends, June 11](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/06/11/national-covid-19-trends-june-11/): Following the same trends from recent weeks, the U.S.’s expected summer Covid-19 wave continues to rise. According to wastewater surveillance and our limited healthcare system data, infections are rising quickly in California and other West Coast states, and progressing more slowly (but still increasing) in other regions.
- [Learning how to live and die with Long Covid](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/06/11/learning-how-to-live-and-die-with-long-covid/): by Miles W. Griffis, High Country News This story was originally published by High Country News. The heady scent of wet creosote hung in the air the morning we skirted impossible alluvial fans on our way to the lowest point in North America. Since the Pleistocene, Badwater Basin, 236 feet below sea level, has primarily
- [Research updates, June 4](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/06/04/research-updates-june-4/): Research updates for the week of June 4 include mice developing Long Covid symptoms following blood transfer, Long Covid at three years, and the risk of infection on long flights.
- [National Covid-19 trends, June 4](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/06/04/national-covid-19-trends-june-4/): Our annual summer Covid-19 wave continues to progress in the U.S., with wastewater testing and other early indicators pointing to slow-but-steady increases in disease spread. West Coast states, especially Hawaii and California, are reporting the greatest increases. Even with delayed and spotty data, we have enough information to signal this is a good time to ramp up precautions when planning ahead for the summer.
- [Black and Unbelieved: A conversation with filmmaker Chimére Sweeney](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/06/04/black-and-unbelieved-a-conversation-with-filmmaker-chimere-sweeney/): Coming down with Covid-19 on March 22, 2020 completely altered filmmaker Chimére Sweeney’s life. A Black middle school English teacher in Baltimore, Maryland at the time, Sweeney was shocked to find herself disregarded by doctor after doctor as she pushed to find answers when she was still sick weeks, months, and then years after infection.
- [Long Covid advocates call out Biden, ask for $1.2 billion of 2025 NIH budget](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/05/28/long-covid-advocates-demand-portion-of-2025-nih-budget/): Last week, a delegation organized by the grassroots advocacy group the Long Covid Campaign traveled to Washington D.C., asking Senate leaders to accelerate over a billion dollars in funding for Long Covid research with the Biden administration’s fiscal year 2025 budget for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The advocates made themselves known in the
- [National Covid-19 trends, May 28](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/05/28/national-covid-19-trends-may-28/): Covid-19 metrics show continued signs that we’re at the start of a summer wave in the U.S., with the West Coast reporting more of a pronounced increase in transmission than other regions. Newer variants with the FLiRT mutations are contributing to this increase, but it will be a few more weeks before we understand their full impact.
- [Research updates, May 28](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/05/28/research-updates-may-28/): Research updates for the week of May 28 include a new gold standard review of masks and respirators, Moderna's interest in Long Covid, and changes in brain structure.
- [How to make spaces more accessible during the continuing pandemic](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/05/23/how-to-make-spaces-more-accessible-during-the-continuing-pandemic/): The relentlessness of the pandemic, now in its fifth year, is drawn out by the persistence of its denial. The federal emergency ended, Covid-19 precautions have been lifted for years, and though many people are “back to normal,” over 20,000 people in the United States died of Covid-19 since the beginning of 2024. Millions who avoided death are nonetheless still living with Long Covid, and this number grows each month. We are still in crisis. This is alarming, but it’s no reason to abandon hope or freeze in inaction. A blueprint for radical inclusion and living a full, safer life within the context of Covid-19 exists. Many mutual aid groups and initiatives advocating for clean air and continued Covid-19 safety are emerging all over the world using technology and layers of protection to help mitigate the spread of viruses. As an access worker at All Kinds and a founder of Clean Air Club, we are part of this multifaceted effort: we believe that focusing on layered mitigation strategies is one way to protect the health and safety of our communities and create accessible futures in the here and now.
- [Ten new books about Long Covid, chronic illness, and disability](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/05/21/ten-new-books-about-long-covid-chronic-illness-and-disability/): 2022 brought us some of the first books on Long Covid, including The Long Covid Survival Guide, The Long Haul, and The Long Covid Handbook. Now, as we forge into the fifth year of the Covid-19 pandemic, more books and anthologies are emerging authored by people with Long Covid and related conditions, as well as broader disability narratives reflecting on the pandemic. Here are ten recently published books on Long Covid, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), chronic illness, and disability.
- [Research updates, May 21](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/05/21/research-updates-may-21/): Research updates for the week of May 21 include a potential biomarker for Long Covid and ME, a new antiviral clinical trial, and two major symposiums.
- [National Covid-19 trends, May 21](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/05/21/national-covid-19-trends-may-21/): Following last week’s trends, U.S. Covid-19 metrics continue to indicate that we may be at the beginning of a summer surge, thanks to our lack of collective safety measures combined with the latest variants. Unfortunately, the U.S. just lost another Covid-19 metric, as wastewater surveillance company Biobot Analytics announced that it is shutting down its public dashboard.
- [#MEAction launches campaign to educate healthcare providers about Myalgic Encephalomyelitis](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/05/14/meaction-launches-campaign-to-educate-healthcare-providers-about-myalgic-encephalomyelitis/): #MEAction, the nonprofit organization advocating for people with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), has launched a campaign to educate healthcare providers about the disease, collaborating with medical schools across the U.S. The education campaign, called “Teach ME, Treat ME,” kicked off last week in time with #MillionsMissing 2024, an outreach event for ME that takes place in May each year.
- [Research updates, May 14](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/05/14/research-updates-may-14/): Research updates for the week of May 14 include a warning about Cue Health tests, discrepancies with Long Covid reporting, and a brain imaging trial.
- [Should people with Long Covid be donating blood?](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/05/14/should-people-with-long-covid-be-donating-blood/): In the fall of 2009, researchers at a lab in Reno, Nevada, said they detected a potentially transmissible virus in the blood of people with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). The study led the American Red Cross to ban blood donations from people with ME. The study was retracted in 2011 and the Red Cross guideline was later reversed, but more than a decade later, there is still a lifetime ban on blood donation from people with ME in the U.K. by the National Health Service (NHS). Similar ME donor bans are also active today in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and Canada. The Canadian Blood Service and the Australian Red Cross both state that ME could be caused by a “transmissible” infection. More questions began to emerge about blood donation by members of the chronic illness community in 2022 when the NHS updated their eligibility requirements, deferring people with Long Covid from donating blood until they considered themselves “fully recovered.” Their reasoning? They stated that blood donation could worsen the symptoms of people with Long Covid or ME.
- [National Covid-19 trends, May 14](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/05/14/national-covid-19-trends-may-14/): Wastewater surveillance and testing data suggest that the U.S. might be at the very beginning of a summer surge in Covid-19 cases, driven by a perpetual lack of collective safety measures and the newer variant KP.2. Without safety measures or long-lasting vaccines, the country faces a wave of reinfections every few months.
- [National Covid-19 trends, May 7](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/05/07/national-covid-19-trends-may-7/): Covid-19 spread in the U.S. is still at a lull, following the trend we’ve observed since mid-March. In this era of the pandemic, though, low points in transmission still mean thousands of new infections every day. And the CDC just stopped tracking Covid-19 hospitalizations, removing one of our more reliable data sources as a new variant is on the horizon.
- [Research updates, May 7](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/05/07/research-updates-may-7/): Research updates for the week of May 7 include brain inflammation, Long Covid in children, and more data on metformin and Covid-19.
- [Research updates, April 30](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/04/30/research-updates-april-30/): The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is making data from its RECOVER initiative available to other researchers studying Long Covid, the agency announced in a press release last week. This dataset includes anonymized, secure medical records from more than 14,000 people participating in the initiative’s observational research — including those living with Long Covid and
- [National Covid-19 trends, April 30](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/04/30/national-covid-19-trends-april-30/): The U.S.’s lull between Covid-19 surges continues, with hospitalizations for the disease reaching their lowest value in over a year — though we’re about to lose that data source. As I’ve pointed out multiple times in recent weeks, there is still a lot of SARS-CoV-2 transmission going on even when CDC maps are colored all in light green. And new variants are likely to contribute to increased spread later this spring.
- [Bird flu is spreading through U.S. farms. What are the risks to people?](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/04/30/bird-flu-is-spreading-through-u-s-farms-what-are-the-risks-to-people/): For the first time, H5N1, a highly pathogenic avian influenza, was identified in cows, less than a week after the first case of bird flu was discovered in livestock among baby goats at a Minnesota farm. The news made infectious disease doctors and researchers take notice, since one warning sign that bird flu could be evolving in a dangerous way is the increased ability to infect new species. But what made them really pause was the update that a dairy worker had also contracted the virus, raising fears that the virus had mutated to become more transmissible to people—an even more worrisome step. So, what are the risks to humans now, and what are the warning signs that risks could be shifting?
- [Research updates, April 23](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/04/23/research-updates-april-23/): Research updates for the week of April 23 include Covid-19 impacts for people living with HIV, long-term neurological impacts of infection, and a clinical trial in Ohio.
- [National Covid-19 trends, April 23](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/04/23/national-covid-19-trends-april-23/): Covid-19 levels continue to be on the lower side across the U.S., as the country is in a lull between surges. But mild metrics from the CDC hide the fact that even during a lull, thousands of people are getting sick daily. And new variants are on the horizon, leading some scientists to warn of a potential wave this summer. Remember, while Covid-19 has been lumped in with seasonal, respiratory diseases like the flu and RSV, it’s less predictable — and more driven by our behavior — than these older diseases.
- [Letters to the editors: Sen. Sanders’ “moonshot” legislation](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/04/23/letters-to-the-editors-sen-sanders-moonshot-legislation/): Today, April 23, is the last day to submit comments to Senator Bernie Sanders’ office and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee about draft legislation proposing $10 billion in funding for Long Covid research over the next 10 years. Following The Sick Times’ story last week about this proposed bill, we received
- [‘People need help now’—Why NYC’s unique Long Covid programs aren’t enough](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/04/18/new-york-city-has-unique-long-covid-programs-but-advocates-say-the-city-could-go-further/): Four years after Covid-19 first hit New York City, the disease is no longer a day-to-day concern for many New Yorkers. City testing sites have closed, businesses and public spaces no longer require masks, and leaders have encouraged people to return to pre-pandemic habits—but forgetting about Covid-19 is impossible for the thousands of people in
- [Research updates, April 16](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/04/16/research-updates-april-16/): Research updates for the week of April 16 include a new study adding to the evidence on viral persistence, a clinical trial looking for a blood RNA biomarker, and the biological signatures of Long Covid and ME.
- [Sen. Bernie Sanders seeks feedback on $10 billion “moonshot” for Long Covid](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/04/16/sen-bernie-sanders-seeks-feedback-on-10-billion-moonshot-for-long-covid/): Last week, Senator Bernie Sanders proposed a “moonshot” for Long Covid, which would allocate one billion dollars a year for the next 10 years to mandatory research into the disease. The Senator and the United Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) are currently seeking email feedback on a draft of this legislation, not yet formally introduced to the Senate, until April 23, 2024.
- [National Covid-19 trends, April 16](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/04/16/national-covid-19-trends-april-16/): Following the trends of the last few weeks, national Covid-19 metrics continue to decrease across the board. Current lulls in disease spread still indicate thousands of people are getting infected daily, though, when compared to the true low points reported in earlier years when mass Covid-19 precautions were still common.
- [Research updates, April 9](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/04/09/research-updates-april-9/): Research updates for the week of April 9 include immune system dysfunction in people with Long Covid, the importance of ventilation, and two clinical trials that are currently recruiting.
- [National Covid-19 trends, April 9](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/04/09/national-covid-19-trends-april-9/): Covid-19 metrics continue to slowly trend down as the end of this past winter’s surge recedes into a lower-risk spring, with reports from wastewater suggesting that the decline in transmission is leveling off. However, these low points come with a lot more virus spread than they used to in the early years of the pandemic, due to a combination of SARS-CoV-2’s continued evolution and a lack of widespread precautions.
- [Hidden disability: The quiet struggle with Long Covid in Kenya](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/04/09/hidden-disability-the-quiet-struggle-with-long-covid-in-kenya/): Despite its global reach, Long Covid is widely underreported in Africa due to a lack of awareness of the condition, inadequate clinical data, and limited access to health care. The impact on the African continent remains largely obscured by a veil of silence and neglect. In a region already burdened by health challenges, including infectious diseases, poverty, and limited healthcare resources, the added strain of sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection magnifies these existing vulnerabilities.
- [Research updates, April 2](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/04/02/research-updates-april-2/): Research updates for the week of April 2 include a new NIH study about Havana Syndrome that parallels the agency's recent ME paper, a Covid-19 antibody that may cause some Long Covid symptoms, and an upcoming clinical trial.
- [National Covid-19 trends, April 2](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/04/02/national-covid-19-trends-april-2/): All national Covid-19 and respiratory illness metrics suggest that disease spread continues to trend down across the U.S., following the same pattern we’ve observed over the last month. However, wastewater data suggest that SARS-CoV-2 transmission may be heading for a plateau as the virus continues to evolve.
- [“Refusing imposed endings”: An interview with Alec Finlay on Scotland’s Covid Memorial](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/04/02/refusing-imposed-endings-an-interview-with-alec-finlay-on-scotlands-covid-memorial/): Alec Finlay is a Scottish poet and artist whose work crosses over a range of media and forms. He’s lived with Long Covid since March 2020, and recently completed the memorial in Pollok County Park, called I remember: Scotland’s Covid Memorial. This collective memorial of the COVID-19 pandemic, permanently installed in the public park, is an artwork featuring oak ‘supports’ holding up trees.
- [How patient-led research could speed up medical innovation](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/04/02/how-patient-led-research-could-speed-up-medical-innovation/): Compared with mainstream medical research that tends to focus on finding biological causes and disease cures, patient-led work is more often rooted in what’s immediately relevant to patients’ daily lives, like identifying symptom triggers or relievers. But the approach faces challenges — particularly a lack of funding and other research resources — as scientific institutions aren’t set up to support these projects. Patient-researchers and their scientist collaborators say the patient-led approach has big potential to move chronic disease research forward, making it more informed, quicker and more poised to directly improve patients’ lives. Projects like Remission Biome “are going to change how research into these chronic, multi-organ-system diseases is going to be done,” Hoffman says. The approach may someday become a standard part of more mainstream research.
- [Long Covid isolation won't break my marriage — in fact, it's made it stronger](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/03/26/long-covid-isolation-wont-break-my-marriage-in-fact-its-made-it-stronger/): The other night, after tucking in our child, my partner and I stretched out on our bed – where I spend the vast majority of my time – talking about how we’ve been forced to live since 2020. H yawned, his curly black hair spread out over his pillow. We were both already exhausted, me from Long Covid and H from working and being the family caregiver, but we are only able to have heavy conversations like this late at night. Hearing us talk about the pandemic, and what we’ve lost, is too stressful for our school-aged child.
- [Want to enroll in a Long Covid clinical trial? This new project helps track them.](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/03/26/want-to-enroll-in-a-long-covid-clinical-trial-this-new-project-helps-track-them/): A new Long Covid project makes information about clinical trials more accessible to people who may want to participate in research while showing gaps in the current search for meaningful treatments. Patient-researcher Ezra Spier developed the new project, called Long Covid Studies. As of its launch on March 26, the site includes details of about 550 trials in the U.S. and 54 other countries.
- [National Covid-19 trends, March 26](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/03/26/national-covid-19-trends-march-26/): Downward Covid-19 trends continue across the major national data sources, as the U.S. keeps inching toward a lower-risk spring and summer. Flu and other respiratory viruses are trending down, too, though there are still a lot of pathogens going around.
- [Research updates, March 26](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/03/26/research-updates-march-26/): Research updates for the week of March 26 include a new clinical trial for Long Covid, a drug to protect immunocompromised people from Covid-19, and the intersections between Long Covid and HIV and hypermobility.
- [Errors, omissions, potential bias: Why some ME experts are calling for a retraction of the NIH intramural study](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/03/19/errors-omissions-potential-bias-why-some-me-experts-are-calling-for-a-retraction-of-the-nih-intramural-study/): After NIH's intramural ME study was published last month in the journal Nature Communications, some patient-advocates and experts in the ME community say their worst fears about this $8 million, eight-year research project were realized. In interviews with The Sick Times, advocates and experts shared concerns about which patients were included in the research, the tests used to evaluate those patients, and a potential underlying bias among the scientists that may have informed the paper’s conclusions.
- [Photo essay: Long Covid advocates gather in DC for demonstration](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/03/18/photo-essay-long-covid-advocates-gather-in-dc-for-demonstration/): On Friday, March 15, 2024 people with Long Covid and their allies gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. for the Long Covid D.C. (LCDC) march to commemorate Long Covid Awareness Day.
- [Research updates, March 19](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/03/19/research-updates-march-19/): Research updates for the week of March 19 include Covid-19's potential impact on road deaths, a new drug trial, and alcohol sensitivity among people with Long Covid.
- [National Covid-19 trends, March 19](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/03/19/national-covid-19-trends-march-19/): Most national Covid-19 metrics point to continued slow declines in disease spread across the U.S. While the country is inching toward a lower-risk spring, levels of SARS-CoV-2 and other common viruses are still high in some places, particularly in the South and Midwest.
- [Sen. Bernie Sanders introduces resolution to formalize Long Covid Awareness Day](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/03/15/sen-bernie-sanders-introduces-resolution-to-formalize-long-covid-awareness-day/): Today Senator Bernie Sanders and the Covid-19 Longhauler Advocacy Project (C19LAP) announced a resolution to formally designate March 15 as Long Covid Awareness Day. “This resolution is a major step in letting the Long Covid community know that we are not being left behind, that we are seen, that Long Covid is real, and that there are people still fighting for us,” Karyn Bishof, founder and president of C19LAP, said in a press release about the resolution.
- [Research updates, March 12](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/03/12/research-updates-march-12/): Research updates for the week of March 12 include newly-launched clinical trials from Scripps Research and NIH RECOVER, lingering SARS-CoV-2 fragments in blood and tissue, and healthcare workers with Long Covid.
- [National Covid-19 trends, March 12](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/03/12/national-covid-19-trends-march-12/): Continuing the tentatively good news from last week, all major Covid-19 metrics are trending toward declining disease spread. But there’s still a lot of this virus going around; it will be several more weeks before SARS-CoV-2 levels may actually be called low, especially in South and Midwest states that had late-winter peaks.
- [How mask blocs are keeping communities safe with neglected government stockpiles](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/03/12/how-mask-blocs-are-keeping-communities-safe-with-neglected-government-stockpiles/): To supply plentiful, free masks to anyone who requests them, mask bloc members track down large quantities of quality masks being sold cheaply or offered for free. In this way, Covid-19 safety groups and mask blocs essentially function as narrow supply chains in specific regions, with bloc members focusing on distribution as well as acquisition. Groups track manufacturer discounts, for example, or search Craigslist for bulk sales of unused, unexpired masks. In recent months, another option has emerged. State governments and other official groups, such as school systems and public utilities, have been auctioning off enormous quantities of unused N95s.
- [Senate hearing highlights Long Covid crisis — but not Covid-19 prevention — while advocacy groups bring their demands to DC](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/01/23/senate-hearing-highlights-long-covid-crisis-but-not-covid-19-prevention-while-advocacy-groups-bring-their-demands-to-dc/): On January 18, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions (HELP) convened a hearing about Long Covid, discussing research priorities and healthcare challenges for the disease. Senators heard from people with Long Covid and scientists studying it in front of a packed room full of Long Covid advocates and allies, along with thousands watching online.
- [It’s “all hands on deck” for Long Covid Awareness Day as the CDC ignores Long Covid in new guidance](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/03/05/its-all-hands-on-deck-for-long-covid-awareness-day-as-the-cdc-ignores-long-covid-in-new-guidance/): People with Long Covid (pwLC), advocates, and their allies from around the world are organizing in preparation of the second annual Long Covid Awareness Day, following similar grassroots advocacy efforts in March 2023. This year’s Awareness Day, pwLC plan to highlight the urgency of the Long Covid crisis and the impacts of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, and to educate the public on the stigmatized disease often swept under the rug by politicians and public health officials like, Mandy Cohen, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
- [National Covid-19 trends, March 5](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/03/05/national-covid-19-trends-march-5/): After a February of plateaus in Covid-19 spread, all major metrics are now pointing once again to a decline in transmission. A lower-risk spring is on the horizon in the coming weeks. Right now, though, viral levels remain high across the U.S., and the CDC’s recent change to its isolation guidance won’t help.
- [Research updates, March 5](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/03/05/research-updates-march-5/): Research updates for the week of March 5 include cognitive impairments from Covid-19, iron dysregulation, and differences between males and females with Long Covid.
- [Q&A: Dr. Ian Simon on his plans for the HHS Office of Long Covid Research and Practice](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/02/27/qa-dr-ian-simon-on-his-plans-for-the-hhs-office-of-long-covid-research-and-practice/): Last month, Dr. Ian Simon became the inaugural director of the U.S. Office of Long Covid Research and Practice, an office under the Department of Health and Human Services that aims to coordinate Long Covid efforts across the federal government. Betsy Ladyzhets spoke to Dr. Simon about his prior experience, his work at the Long Covid office so far, and his plans for leveraging federal resources to advance research and support for people with Long Covid.
- [National Covid-19 trends, February 27](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/02/27/national-covid-19-trends-february-27/): The U.S.’s winter Covid-19 surge continues to drag on, with wastewater surveillance reporting high levels even as we head into March and relatively slow declines in hospitalizations. While this surge will surely lead to Long Covid, this result will be tough to track thanks to the abandonment of testing and relatively limited tracking efforts from health agencies.
- [Research updates, February 27](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/02/27/research-updates-february-27/): Research updates for the week of February 27 include a major study about ME, persistent SARS-CoV-2 infections, and the blood brain barrier's connection to brain fog.
- [Research updates, February 20](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/02/20/research-updates-february-20/): Research updates for the week of February 20 include new funding for the NIH RECOVER initiative, research about hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and brain damage from Covid-19.
- [Long Covid surveys from a FDA/NIH initiative ask which drugs help alleviate symptoms](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/02/20/long-covid-surveys-from-an-fda-nih-initiative-ask-which-drugs-help-alleviate-symptoms/): Last month, a U.S. government initiative launched a pair of surveys to collect information about how people with Long Covid are managing their symptoms. Data from these surveys, one for people with Long Covid and one for their doctors, will inform priorities for clinical trials.
- [The CDC’s proposed isolation guidance is (still) not based on data or science](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/02/20/the-cdcs-proposed-isolation-guidance-is-still-not-based-on-data-or-science/): During the first Omicron surge of winter 2021-2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) changed their ten-day Covid-19 isolation guidelines to five days after they received a request from Delta CEO, Ed Bastian. The change wasn’t based on any data or science, as Betsy wrote nearly two years ago for the Covid-19 Data Dispatch. Last week, a Washington Post reporter Lena Sun broke the story that the CDC is planning a change from that five-day isolation period to a mere one day — still not based on any data or science.
- [National Covid-19 trends, February 20](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/02/20/national-covid-19-trends-february-20/): Four months into the winter disease season, there’s still a lot of SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses going around. Wastewater and other indicators show that Covid-19 levels are still high across the country, not sharply declining as we usually expect for this time of year. Disease levels are particularly high in the South and Midwest.
- [Research updates, February 13](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/02/13/research-updates-february-13/): Research updates for the week of February 13 include mitochondrial dysfunction in people with Long Covid, risk of Long Covid among pregnant people, and the U.S.'s failure to protect frontline workers.
- [Q&A: Melissa Stockwell on Long Covid in children, how RECOVER aims to answer questions](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/02/13/qa-melissa-stockwell-on-long-covid-in-children-how-recover-aims-to-answer-questions/): Last week, researchers from the National Institutes of Health’s RECOVER consortium had a major review paper about Long Covid in children published in the journal Pediatrics. The paper explores what researchers have learned about how this disease can impact children, including estimates of how many children may be impacted — up to 5.8 million in
- [Covid-19 reinfections are further disabling people with Long Covid](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/02/13/covid-19-reinfections-are-further-disabling-people-with-long-covid/): Attempting to recover or improve your quality of life with Long Covid or other IACCs today is a Sisyphean effort. Our governments, public health organizations, and leaders have condemned us to an underworld (a wayside?) where we push the boulder of our recovery up a mountain, only to be reinfected and watch it tumble back down. But unlike Sisyphus who makes it to the top of the mountain each time, each infection prevents us from ever seeing the summit view again. Our next efforts only bring us half the way, a quarter of the way, a few yards. Some have been trapped beneath the boulder since their very first infection.
- [National Covid-19 trends, February 13](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/02/13/national-covid-19-trends-february-13/): While Covid-19 is clearly still spreading at high rates across the U.S., data sources are giving us mixed signals as to whether transmission is going up or down. Wastewater surveillance suggests transmission may be increasing in some places and decreasing in others, while healthcare system data show continued, but slow, declines in severe acute Covid-19 cases.
- [How we track Covid-19, with wastewater and other data sources](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/02/06/how-we-track-covid-19-with-wastewater-and-other-data-sources/): In the last few weeks, I (Betsy) have received a few questions about the national Covid-19 updates that we've been publishing every week at The Sick Times. Readers have been particularly interested in how I reference wastewater surveillance, a newer technology for tracking viruses and other health indicators that became prominent during the pandemic.
- [Research updates, February 6](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/02/06/research-updates-february-6/): New studies published in the last week include "zombie fragments" from SARS-CoV-2, the burden of Covid-19 for BIPOC individuals, and a ME drug with promise for Long Covid.
- [National Covid-19 trends, February 6](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/02/06/national-covid-19-trends-february-6/): Continuing a trend from last week, wastewater surveillance data for the U.S. indicate that this winter’s Covid-19 surge may have gotten a second wind. National trends show slow declines or plateaus in SARS-CoV-2 transmission, while regional trends suggest transmission may be picking up again in the Northeast and South.
- [This artist is memorializing the Covid-19 pandemic through textiles, and you can help](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/01/30/this-artist-is-memorializing-the-covid-19-pandemic-through-textiles-and-you-can-help/): A blue stitch for a case. A red stitch for a death. At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Boulder-based artist Heather Schulte wanted to turn the case and death tallies into something tangible. She had grown up in Nebraska and had been “embedded in textiles since birth,” she said. As the virus spread, she started a cross-stitching project called “Stitching the Situation” to deal with the isolation and loss that the pandemic sowed.
- [Research updates, January 30](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/01/30/research-updates-january-30/): Research updates for the week of January 30 include news from NIH RECOVER's observational studies, cognitive slowing among people with Long Covid, and health issues that arise in infants whose mothers have Covid-19.
- [National Covid-19  trends, January 30](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/01/30/national-covid-19-trends-january-30/): All available Covid-19 metrics suggest that the U.S. is a couple of weeks past the peak of this winter’s major surge. Hospital-related metrics, test positivity and SARS-CoV-2 levels in wastewater are all declining. However, some wastewater dashboards suggest we may be approaching a plateau in transmission, meaning the steep decline observed over the last two weeks may end.
- [A win for healthcare workers and patients: The CDC returns HICPAC’s draft recommendations on infection control](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/01/30/a-win-for-healthcare-workers-and-patients-the-cdc-returns-hicpacs-draft-recommendations-on-infection-control/): Last summer, the federal Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) began meeting to update their guidance on infection control in healthcare settings for the first time in sixteen years. The committee’s draft recommendations, released in November, argue that surgical masks are adequate protection against airborne viruses, and allow employers to decide whether to implement infection control guidance based on their own risk assessments. Last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) returned HICPAC’s draft, asking for a revision, in what was seen by many as a win for frontline workers, unions, and patients who have been advocating for different recommendations.
- [Research updates, January 23](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/01/23/research-updates-january-23/): Research updates for the week of January 23 include issues in the blood proteins of people with Long Covid, a potential mechanism for neurological symptoms, and preventative measures for Covid-19.
- [National Covid-19 trends, January 23](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/01/23/national-covid-19-trends-january-23/): Two weeks of data now suggest this winter’s Covid-19 surge may have peaked in the U.S., with other respiratory viruses following a similar pattern. Disease levels are still very high across the country, though; it will be several more weeks before the country is out of this surge, and its full impacts will be hidden thanks to dismantled data systems.
- [Social media users ask, “Where is Mandy?” as CDC director stays out of spotlight during Covid surge](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/01/16/social-media-users-ask-where-is-mandy-as-cdc-director-stays-out-of-spotlight-during-covid-surge/): Despite what might be the second biggest surge of the entire pandemic, CDC director Mandy Cohen has been absent from her official CDC social media accounts. Similarly, the CDC has yet to issue any press releases or public service announcements specifically about the JN.1 surge, which may be infecting over one million Americans each day and has killed more than 3,000 Americans in the past two weeks alone — likely a significant undercount, as death reports are delayed. Nearly 10,000 people died worldwide in December from Covid-19.
- [Research updates, January 16](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/01/16/research-updates-january-16/): New research for the week of January 16 include a study examining viral persistence in people with Long Covid, the link between Epstein-Barr virus and Multiple Sclerosis, and a therapy used for chest pain that may have Long Covid applications.
- [National Covid-19 trends, January 16](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/01/16/national-covid-19-trends-january-16/): Multiple data sources suggest that the U.S.’s current Covid-19 surge may have peaked, with wastewater surveillance and healthcare system metrics showing potential declines in disease spread. But slight declines still lead us with incredibly high levels of SARS-CoV-2 across the country, along with other common viruses.
- [What’s happening this week, January 9](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/01/09/whats-happening-this-week-january-9/): A new study in Nature Communications confirms what so many people with post-exertional malaise (PEM) have been saying for decades: exercise can make us worse. Plus: research about Paxlovid and returning to work, an upcoming march in DC, an important NIH webinar.
- [Long Covid advocates face challenges, potential discrimination with billboard campaigns](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/01/09/long-covid-advocates-face-challenges-potential-discrimination-with-billboard-campaigns/): People with Long Covid in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Europe are buying billboard ads to raise awareness about the disease and promote the urgent need for clinical trials. These billboards aim to do the job of public health authorities, advocates who spoke to The Sick Times explained. However, as some billboard efforts in the U.S. have run into roadblocks, legal experts say there’s a potential case that advocates may be experiencing discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
- [National Covid-19 trends, January 9](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/01/09/national-covid-19-trends-january-9/): All available Covid-19 data in the U.S. suggest that the country is at the high point of an intense winter surge. The JN.1 variant, the latest fast-spreading offshoot of Omicron, has intensified the spread from holiday travel and gatherings. Hospitalizations are currently following similar trends to last winter, but could rise more in the coming weeks.
- [New CDC data identify more than 5,000 Long Covid deaths, but tally is likely a significant undercount](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/01/09/new-cdc-data-identifies-more-than-5000-long-covid-deaths-but-tally-is-likely-a-significant-undercount/): Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new data on deaths caused by Long Covid, reporting that more than 5,000 Americans have died from this disease since 2020. The CDC’s numbers most likely represent significant undercounts of Long Covid-related deaths, experts say, highlighting a need for better reporting standards and education for the people who fill out death certificates.
- [Q&A: Eric Topol on Long Covid clinical trials, RECOVER funding, what he’s looking forward to in 2024](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/01/02/qa-eric-topol-on-long-covid-clinical-trials-recover-funding-what-hes-looking-forward-to-in-2024/): To kick off a new year at The Sick Times, we’re excited to share a conversation looking ahead at future Long Covid research between Betsy Ladyzhets and Dr. Eric Topol, founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute. Throughout the last four years, Topol has been a well-regarded commenter on Covid-19 and Long Covid,
- [What you need to know about JN.1, the latest “variant of interest”](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/01/02/what-you-need-to-know-about-jn-1-the-latest-variant-of-interest/): This winter, there’s another new SARS-CoV-2 variant contributing to surges around the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) classified this variant, called JN.1, as a “variant of interest” on December 19, signifying that it is worth the attention of scientists and healthcare workers. In the U.S., JN.1 may lead to higher levels of coronavirus spread this month than we saw last year, though it’s hard to make definitive conclusions thanks to our dismantled testing infrastructure.
- [What's happening this week, January 2](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/01/02/whats-happening-this-week-january-2/): Research and advocacy updates for the week of January 2 include new research about a drug candidate for Long Covid and ME, markers of brain injury, Paxlovid, and a Twitter campaign.
- [National Covid-19 trends, January 2](https://thesicktimes.org/2024/01/02/national-covid-19-trends-january-2/): This winter’s Covid-19 surge continues in the U.S. While data aren’t yet available for the weeks after Christmas and New Years, wastewater surveillance suggests there could be more SARS-CoV-2 going around right now than reported at this time last year — with variant JN.1 fueling the spread from holiday travel and gatherings.
- [Long Covid advocates send “unhappy holiday” cards to their representatives](https://thesicktimes.org/2023/12/26/long-covid-advocates-send-unhappy-holiday-cards-to-their-representatives/): This month, the organizers of Long Covid Moonshot put together an “Unhappy Holidays” card, letter, and calling campaign directed at legislators. Some from the international community joined in too, writing cards to their respective governments. The creative effort featured colorful, funny, and heartbreaking letters from people with Long Covid and their allies to advocate for billions of dollars in annual funding for the disease. Cards were sent across the country to various congresspeople, senators, public health officials, and the White House.
- [#MEAction co-founder Beth Mazur passes away](https://thesicktimes.org/2023/12/26/meaction-co-founder-beth-mazur-passes-away/): On Friday, the ME advocacy group #MEAction shared that their co-founder, Beth Mazur, passed away after living with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) for 15 years. “She was a selfless beacon of hope and light for so many in our community and she demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the cause,” #MEAction wrote on their website.
- [Q&A: Ziyad Al-Aly on why Long Covid has a higher burden than “Long Flu,” future research, and more](https://thesicktimes.org/2023/12/19/qa-ziyad-al-aly-on-why-long-covid-has-a-higher-burden-than-long-flu-future-research-and-more/): Last week, clinical epidemiologist Ziyad Al-Aly and his team at Washington University and the St. Louis Veterans Affairs (VA) health system published a new paper demonstrating that Covid-19 has a higher long-term health burden than the flu. Betsy Ladyzhets from The Sick Times talked to Al-Aly about his new paper and other areas of Long Covid research.
- [HHS gave million-dollar grants to nine Long Covid clinics; here’s how they plan to use the funding](https://thesicktimes.org/2023/12/12/hhs-gave-million-dollar-grants-to-nine-long-covid-clinics-heres-how-they-plan-to-use-the-funding/): This fall, the federal government announced a new grant program to support Long Covid care: the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) awarded million-dollar grants to nine Long Covid clinics across the country, designed to help these centers extend their reach and develop best practices for addressing this complex chronic disease. Each clinic can receive up to $5 million over five years, with $45 million set aside for the overall program.
- [Covid-19 in the hierarchy of the Gaza health crises](https://thesicktimes.org/2023/12/19/covid-in-the-hierarchy-of-the-gaza-health-crises/): Gaza faces severe healthcare collapse after more than 20,000 civilians have been killed by Israeli forces since October 7, 70% of them women and children. As the Covid-19 pandemic still surges around the world, it is almost impossible to track in Gaza due to a lack of testing resources, attacks on healthcare facilities, and hundreds of murders of healthcare workers. The coronavirus adds long-term health consequences to the more immediate, more urgent injuries from bombings, shootings, bulldozers, waterborne diseases, and starvation.
- [National Covid-19 trends, December 19](https://thesicktimes.org/2023/12/19/national-covid-19-trends-december-19/): Covid-19 spread continues to increase across the country — along with the spread of other respiratory viruses — as the U.S. heads into our busiest period of travel and holiday gatherings. Despite this winter following the same disease trends as we saw the last three years, public health institutions have failed to prepare any better; in fact, vaccination rates are so low, the CDC issued an “urgent health advisory” to doctors.
- [Policy experts, scientists, disability groups urge Biden to address the Long Covid crisis](https://thesicktimes.org/2023/12/18/policy-experts-scientists-disability-groups-urge-biden-to-address-the-long-covid-crisis/): A wide breadth of policy experts, scientists, and disability groups are calling on President Biden to urgently address the Long Covid crisis with annual funding in the billions. In the open letter published on Monday, health policy experts, leading Long Covid researchers, clinicians, journalists, chronic illness and health advocacy groups, and many others demand that Biden demonstrate support for the millions of Americans with Long COVID and infection-associated chronic conditions (IACCs).
- [Virtual town hall recording now available](https://thesicktimes.org/2023/12/12/virtual-town-hall-recording-now-available/): Thanks to everyone who came to our virtual town hall last week! We received incredible feedback, comments, and story ideas from the community. A recording of the first few minutes of the meeting, featuring an overview and update from our co-editors, is now available.
- [What's happening this week, December 12](https://thesicktimes.org/2023/12/12/whats-happening-this-week-december-12/): Research updates for the week of December 12 include clinical trial findings from a microbiome study, Long Covid prevalence in Africa, and ME in the U.S. Upcoming events include arts and poetry workshops.
- [National Covid-19 trends, December 12](https://thesicktimes.org/2023/12/12/national-covid-19-trends-december-12/): Both Covid-19 and respiratory virus season metrics point to ongoing increases in disease spread across the country, though some regions (particularly the Midwest) are seeing more SARS-CoV-2 infections than others right now. The federal government continues to take insufficient responses to Covid-19 and other common diseases.
- [Project N95 ending mask store, free distributions by the end of 2023](https://thesicktimes.org/2023/12/05/project-n95-ending-mask-store-free-distributions-by-the-end-of-2023/): Project N95, the nonprofit organization that distributes high-quality masks and other Covid-19 safety equipment, announced last month that it will wind down its operations at the end of 2023. This closure marks the end of an effort that provided a trustworthy place to buy masks online and distributed millions of free masks to communities in need.
- [HIV may increase the risk of Long Covid. Why aren’t major advocacy groups addressing it?](https://thesicktimes.org/2023/12/05/hiv-may-increase-the-risk-of-long-covid-why-arent-major-advocacy-groups-addressing-it/): Advocates say that the government is not doing enough to support people with Long Covid, nor are most well-funded LGBTQ+ or HIV advocacy groups, even though Long Covid may be burdensome for their communities. Recent studies suggest that HIV may be an increasedrisk factor for Long Covid and that people with HIV have an elevated Covid-reinfection rate. The Sick Times reviewed websites from several major HIV and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups and found very little information or resources about Long Covid.
- [What's happening this week, December 5](https://thesicktimes.org/2023/12/05/whats-happening-this-week-december-5/): Research updates and events for this week include two papers advancing the study of potential Long Covid biomarkers, The Sick Times' town hall, and an update on ME/CFS research from the NIH.
- [National Covid-19 trends, December 5](https://thesicktimes.org/2023/12/05/national-covid-19-trends-december-5/): As I anticipated last week, major metrics for Covid-19 and other respiratory viruses show increased disease spread during the week of Thanksgiving. This trend will likely continue through December (if not longer) as Americans continue to travel and gather for the holidays with relatively few precautions.
- [Share your story ideas at The Sick Times's Virtual Town Hall](https://thesicktimes.org/2023/11/28/share-your-story-ideas-at-the-sick-timess-virtual-town-hall/): Join The Sick Times co-founders Miles Griffis and Betsy Ladyzhets on Wednesday, December 6, at 7 pm EST/4 pm PST for a virtual town hall. We’ll give you an update on The Sick Times, describing the project’s current status and future plans. We’ll also invite attendees to share comments, questions, and story ideas.
- [What’s happening this week, November 28](https://thesicktimes.org/2023/11/28/whats-happening-this-week-november-28/): We're highlighting new research showing symptom longevity and Long Covid's impact on the brain, along with events discussing immune profiling, Long Covid in the workplace, and global health.
- [Support Long Covid journalism for #GivingTuesday](https://thesicktimes.org/2023/11/28/support-long-covid-journalism-for-givingtuesday/): Today, on Giving Tuesday, an internationally recognized day for giving to charity, please consider donating to our nonprofit newsroom at The Sick Times. We aim to raise $75,000 as we build a full news website in 2024.
- [National Covid-19 trends, November 28](https://thesicktimes.org/2023/11/28/national-covid-19-trends-november-28/): Most Covid-19 data sources point to a continued slow increase in the coronavirus’ spread across the country. Due to reporting delays, our most recent numbers are from the week before Thanksgiving; I expect that next week’s data will show a sharper uptick driven by holiday travel and gatherings with few widespread safety measures.
- [Census change would reduce estimates of disability in U.S., impacting community resources and Long Covid research](https://thesicktimes.org/2023/11/21/census-change-would-reduce-estimates-of-disability-in-u-s-impacting-community-resources-and-long-covid-research/): The U.S. Bureau of the Census is considering a change to how it tracks disability, which would lead to significant drops in estimates of how many Americans are disabled. The change may result in cuts to funding and resources for disabled communities, experts say, including the millions of Americans with Long Covid.
- [The HHS invites nominees for a new committee on Long Covid, but will it listen to them?](https://thesicktimes.org/2023/11/21/the-hhs-invites-nominees-for-a-new-committee-on-long-covid-but-will-it-listen-to-them/): On Thursday, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced they are seeking nominations for the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Long Covid, which will incorporate perspectives from the public to inform the executive branch on Long Covid. The HHS will consider up to 20 members from a wide array of expertise from people with Long Covid, disability groups, chronic illness groups, health care workers, public health groups, and many others.
- [What's happening this week, November 21](https://thesicktimes.org/2023/11/21/whats-happening-this-week-november-21/): The organizers of Long Covid Moonshot told The Sick Times that over 500 calls were logged from 36 states during last Tuesday’s telethon. Plus: new studies about veterans with Long Covid and a potential treatment for smell problems, new Long Covid publications, and more.
- [National Covid-19 trends, November 21](https://thesicktimes.org/2023/11/21/national-covid-19-trends-november-21/): All major Covid-19 metrics currently point to slow-but-steady increases in coronavirus transmission at the national level. Travel and gatherings for Thanksgiving are likely to accelerate the virus’ spread, contributing to a potential winter surge.
- [Welcome to The Sick Times, a letter from our co-founder Miles W. Griffis](https://thesicktimes.org/2023/11/14/welcome-to-the-sick-times-a-letter-from-our-co-founder-miles-w-griffis/): It’s not mysterious. A highly contagious airborne virus has spread around the world for the past four years and continues to infect people as I write. SARS-Cov-2 has killed an excess of 23 million people worldwide and plagued over 65 million people with Long Covid and other associated conditions.
- [Welcome to The Sick Times, a letter from our co-founder, Betsy Ladyzhets](https://thesicktimes.org/2023/11/14/welcome-to-the-sick-times-a-letter-from-our-co-founder-betsy-ladyzhets/): The story sounds familiar, but Long Covid is different: this time, the number of sick people is too big to ignore. People with Long Covid are making their voices heard everywhere from their doctors’ offices to the steps of the White House. Those of us who’ve been listening hear the calls to action — to research, to better healthcare, to collective support — and we hear a warning. If we don’t act now, this crisis will keep expanding.
- [What's happening this week, November 14](https://thesicktimes.org/2023/11/14/research-updates-actions-events-november-14/): Research updates and events include a Long Covid Moonshot telethon, a letter-writing campaign, a webinar about trans and Long Covid liberation, and more.
- [National Covid-19 trends, November 14](https://thesicktimes.org/2023/11/14/national-covid-19-trends-november-14/): Over the last three years, Covid-19 has followed a similar pattern during the fall and winter months in the U.S.: after an increase in cases over the summer, disease spread has waned in the early fall — then returned with a new surge around Thanksgiving. While the holiday surge was supercharged in 2021 thanks to the appearance of Omicron, this general pattern has been fairly consistent. Right now, we’re at the tail end of the “early fall lull” and seeing early signs of a holiday season increase.
- [We want to hear from you! Take our reader survey](https://thesicktimes.org/2023/11/14/reader-survey/): If you’re part of the Long Covid community, we want to hear from you. We want to know what you’ve found helpful — and unhelpful — in past media coverage of Long Covid. And we want to know your priorities and story ideas as we start to plan our articles for the coming months, building to a full news site in early 2024.

## Pages

- [The Sick Times newsletter: Long COVID news](https://thesicktimes.org/newsletter/): Sign up for our free newsletter, delivered every Tuesday. Receive our latest stories, research updates, COVID-19 trends, advocacy alerts, essays and op-eds, our favorite stories by other publications, and more. Subscribe here: * indicates required Email Address * Check out past newsletters: You can also hear about our latest stories in our weekly podcast, Still
- [Resources](https://thesicktimes.org/resources/): The following resources for navigating Long COVID and COVID-19 have been developed by The Sick Times’ team or are frequently cited in our coverage. This is an evolving list that we will expand over time; it was last updated in August 2026. Email editors@thesicktimes.org to suggest additions or with other feedback. To get the most
- [Questions to ask when evaluating evidence from clinical trials](https://thesicktimes.org/questions-to-ask-when-evaluating-evidence-from-clinical-trials/): By Simon Spichak This resource is intended to help readers interpret results from and communications about clinical trials for Long COVID and related diseases. It accompanies Simon Spichak's July 2026 story, “How to interpret clinical trial results for Long COVID.” Table of contents Trial phases Trial glossary Trial reporting Outcome measures and subgroups What stage
- [About The Sick Times](https://thesicktimes.org/about/): Mission statement The Sick Times is a journalist-founded website chronicling the Long COVID crisis. We report on the common, life-changing disease following SARS-CoV-2 infection that affects over 400 million people worldwide and can be fatal. Our coverage spans related infection-associated chronic conditions such as myalgic encephalomyelitis, dysautonomia, mast cell activation syndrome, and more. Unlike many
- [Write for us](https://thesicktimes.org/write-for-us-part-time-opportunities/): The Sick Times is accepting pitches for reported news features and essays/commentary pieces. We take pitches only; do not send full drafts on spec. We prioritize pitches from people with Long COVID and related diseases. We will not review pitches that were drafted with AI. To pitch us, email editors@thesicktimes.org. We generally respond to pitches
- [Transparency & policies](https://thesicktimes.org/transparency-policies/): This page shares key policies for our newsroom operations and details about our finances, including organizations and individuals that have contributed a total of $5,000 or more per year. Table of contents: Editorial independence policy Donor transparency policy Corrections policy Republication policy Advertising policy Funders Disclosures Budget Editorial independence policy We subscribe to standards of
- [Mask bans and proposed bans by state](https://thesicktimes.org/mask-bans-and-proposed-bans-by-state/): By Justine Barron This list includes most U.S. bans on masks and disguises at the federal and state level, including proposed bills. Most of these were passed during the mid-20th century to address the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), often alongside bans on burning crosses. This list does not include every one of the countless municipal

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