Congresswomen Cori Bush (D-Mo.) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington) are leading an effort to address “Long COVID” cases in the U.S.
An additional 17 House members signed a letter to U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle P. Walensky, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure urging federal health agencies to address the lack of health monitoring and treatment funding for children and young people suffering from long COVID cases.
“We urge the Department of Health and Human Services to take immediate action to improve the healthcare system to support and monitor children as the long-term effects of COVID-19 continue to harm them,” the House members wrote.
“The impact of potentially millions of children becoming permanently impaired from COVID-19 will have unforeseeable consequences unless policymakers immediately intervene. Given that human life and health are at risk, it is imperative that HHS remain a consistent and reliable steward of public health that presents a comprehensive, rapid federal response to controlling the spread of COVID-19.”
Dr. Alexander Garza, co-lead of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force, said during a Feb. 8 briefing that over the past two years, “we have discovered a lot about the COVID-19 disease process.”
“However, there is still much that we don’t know about the long-term effects from infection, particularly in children. Because of the potential for life-long impacts, it is imperative to develop systems to surveil for long-COVID syndromes in children as well as fund research and access to effective treatments,” he explained.
Dr. Leonard Weinstock, a gastroenterologist with Missouri Baptist Hospital, noticed a link between typical “long COVID-19” symptoms and that of another condition: “Mast Cell Activation Syndrome.”
“Long COVID is a major issue for adults, amongst other post-acute COVID-19 sequelae, throughout America,” he said in the release.
“After a COVID-19 infection, the risk for a multisystemic illness–which can lead to disability and poor job performance–is great. This may become our second pandemic.”
Bush and fellow members of Congress seek:
Guidance to local, state, and federal public health officials emphasizing the need for better health monitoring of children during and after a COVID-19 infection.
Making data related to children’s health and COVID-19 available on the CDC website.
Removing cost barriers to patients seeking post-COVID monitoring and care.
Use of available authorities, including march-in rights, to make drugs needed by those suffering from COVID-19 long-term effects available to everyone.
“We are currently in the midst of a historically unprecedented threat to life, health, and safety as we head into the third year of a deadly pandemic. The U.S. reported 1.5 million new cases in a single day on January 11, adding to the staggering 78 million positive cases and over 915,000 preventable deaths reported since March 2020,” the letter states.
The (CDC) published a study in January indicating that COVID-19 infections in children may be linked to lifelong health consequences, including diabetes.
“In St. Louis, our communities are grappling with the impact of a nearly 40 percent peak positivity rate that threatens to disrupt every sector of our local economy,” Bush states in the letter.
“Children in particular have faced tremendous obstacles while navigating the pandemic, ranging from the tragic loss of parents and caregivers, difficult school closures, and the constant threat to life and health.”
