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Former NY Governor Andrew Cuomo is facing the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic to answer questions about nursing home guidance during the pandemic.
WASHINGTON Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo isset to appear before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic to explain why he issued a "must admit" COVID-19 nursing home guidance at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo implemented nursing home policies that had deadly consequences for New Yorks most vulnerable population. Not only did the former Governor put the elderly in harms way, but he also attempted to cover-up his failures by hiding the true nursing home death rate. It appears that politics, not medicine, was responsible for these decisions. Former Governor Cuomo owes answers to the 15,000 families who lost loved ones in New York nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. His testimony is crucial to uncover the circumstances that led to his misguided policies and for ensuring that fatal mistakes never happen again. It is well past time for Cuomo to stop dodging accountability to Congress and start answering honestly to the American people, said Chairman Wenstrup.
The meeting will be held behind closed doors. The Select Subcommittee has already interviewed several other officials that were part of Cuomo's administration, including:
Melissa DeRosa, the former Secretary to Governor Cuomo will be interviewed at a later date.
When news that Cuomo would be interviewed in April, his spokesman dismissed the Congressional appearance as being a purely political move with no news value and nothing turned up in previous investigations.
Here is his statement:"Theres no news here, we agreed to do this months ago. This is pure politics and simple fact remains that this issue has been reviewed three times by the Department of Justice under Trump and Biden, as well as Congress and the Manhattan District Attorney who found no there there. Any real review would focus on the 10 other states with similar policies, red and blue alike.
Some Swifties in Europe have more than Taylor Swift in common they have COVID-19 too.
During the singer's EuropeanEras Tourstops, Swift performed in Madrid onMay 29 and 30. According to Spanish news site El Nacional, not long after the concert that amassed about 130,000 attendees over two days, thousands online have said they contracted COVID-19. Such gatherings are widely known for being possiblesuperspreader events, as people from many different areas sometimes even flying in from different countries are in such close proximity.
One specific X account, known for being a hub for Spanish Swifties, took a poll of their followers, asking if they had become sick with COVID-19 after one of Swift's concerts in Madrid. Of the 10,796 people who answered the poll online, 35%, or 3,780 of the concertgoers said they had.
One concertgoer described their symptoms as, "Cough, sore throat, body discomfort and I can hardly speak." Another said that a few days after both concerts, "On Saturday my neck hurt, and I spent the night from Sunday to Monday with a fever of 39C,one of the worst nights of my life." Another person said, "During the weekend, I noticed that I felt different because I was feeling very uncomfortable, and felt dizzy. Yesterday I was coughing non-stop. I took the test today and it came back positive."
It's not just some of the largest European cities facing superspreader events in the coming summer. In the United States, scientists are warning of what they have been calling a "summer wave"of COVID-19 cases. The potential rise in COVID-19 cases stems from new Omicron subvariants like the KP.3 variant, JN.1 virus, or other strains known as theFlirt strains. The Centers for Disease Control said that these new strains of COVID now account for more than 50% of the cases in the U.S. According to the CDC, infection rates and hospitalization have been lower or "minimal" levels of"respiratory illness activity." However, the government agency's data suggests that infections are projected to increase in several states across the country likeCalifornia, Washington D.C., Florida, New Jersey and Texas.
Despite the growing concerns about new variants causing an increase in infections, there has been an unexpected outcome to thousands of Swifties testing positive. Some have shared how the COVID experience and symptoms have been difficult to deal with but others have treated it as just another Taylor Swift Eras Tour bonus. "COVID, infected by Taylor Swift, I'll sell myantigen test for 5000 euros!" one person wrote, as if the test was a Swiftie keepsake. Another said,"Taylor Swift is so cute she included the new COVID variant as a surprise in the Eras Tour Madrid."
Even though some Swifties may wear their positive COVID tests as a badge of honor, Spanish Swifties aren't the only ones who have contracted COVID at the Eras Tour. The Nacional also reported that some French Swifties are experiencing similar symptoms to COVID-19 after the singer's two-day stint in Paris on June 9 and 10. There were also some concerns that some concertgoers contracted COVID-19 last year during the U.S. leg of the tour. However, the Los Angeles Times said it wasn't clear if those cases contributed to a larger spread of the virus.
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Politics
By Josh Christenson
Published June 11, 2024
Updated June 11, 2024, 11:48 a.m. ET
Former New York Gov.Andrew Cuomo arrived on Capitol Hill Tuesday to answer questionsabout his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemicincluding an infamous order that put infected patients in senior care facilities alongside vulnerable elderly people.
Cuomo entered the ONeill House Office Building a little before 10 a.m., accompanied by his attorneys and addressed reporters outside before sitting downwith members of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic.
You know, four years ago, the Republican administration accused New York and other Democratic states of mismanaging the COVID situation, specifically mismanaging in nursing homesand they called for a Department of Justice investigation against just four Democratic states, Cuomo said.
Its ironic today that you hear complaints about the weaponization of the justice system, when they nuclearized the justice system against Democratic states, he added, pointing to federal investigations that found no wrongdoing and claiming hisnotorious March 25, 2020, nursing home order had followed the federal guidance.
It defies logic for anyone that you would mandate nursing homes, who were not capable of taking these COVID-positive patients because they didnt have the space to separate them, or they didnt have the PPE to care for them, or the staffing to care for them at that moment, House COVID subcommittee member Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) said before the hearing.
What Im seeking, really, is the answers to what led to it: Was there some type of monetary incentive for hospitals versus nursing homes versus the COVID facilities that were later set up? she asked. And we want to know who was responsible for making that decision. And what was the information that they had that led them to that decision?
Even when you had US Navy[USNS]Comfort [hospital] ship and you had South Beach Psychiatric Center on Staten Island, a makeshift hospital that was set up for COVID patients, even when you had the Javits Center set up, they still continued this deadly mandate, Malliotakis stressed.
I think that well have a lot more clarity as to what led to that deadly mandate that thousands of seniors died, she concluded. The difference is that CDC guidance had made a recommendation that certainly was not a mandate.
The Justice Department did not recommend Cuomo for prosecution based on the March 25, 2020, must admit order after looking into the decisionbut reports from the New York Bar Association and Empire Center for PublicPolicydeterminedthatit led to hundreds of additional deaths.
New York Attorney General Letitia James also revealed in January 2021 at the end of an investigation that the Cuomo administration undercountedby more than 50% the number of nursing home deaths.
The Department of Health had initially recorded 8,711 deaths, which was later pushed up to more than 13,000, according to Jamesreport.
The 76-page report surveyed 62 nursing homes that found the state undercounted the fatalities there by an average of 56%.
The following month, his top aideapologized to Democratic lawmakerson a private phone call for withholding the data, saying the administration froze in the face of federal prosecutors who could use it against us.
The aide, Melissa DeRosa, accused the Trump administration ofusing the data asa giant political football beforegoing onto attackotherDemocratic governors like Phil Murphy of New Jersey, Gavin Newsom of California and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan.
Then-President Donald Trump ordered the Department of Justice to do an investigation into us, DeRosa told the lawmakers. And basically, we froze.
Because then we were in a position where we werent sure if what we were going to give to the Department of Justice, or what we give to you guys, what we start saying, was going to be used against us while we werent sure if there was going to be an investigation, she added. That played a very large role into this.
DeRosa will appear in the coming weeks for a separate transcribed interview with the House COVID subcommittee, a spokeswoman for the panel told The Post.
Another committee spokesperson previously revealed that the former Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health, Howard Zucker, testified to the panel that DeRosa exercised a critical role in preparing and carrying out the states must-admit order.
Her attorney, Gregory Morvillo, has previously denied her involvement.
Melissa played no role in the drafting or implementation of the March 25 guidance, Morvillo said in a December statement following Zuckers testimony.
What we understand Dr. Zucker did say is that Melissa, as secretary to the governor, played a critical role in COVID response, which is true.
More than 80,000 New Yorkers died of COVID-19 from the beginning of the pandemic to May 2023,US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data show.
House COVID subcommittee chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) pledged in a statement that former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo will be held to account in front of Congress for the deadly pandemic-era nursing home policies issued under his watch.
This transcribed interview before the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic will delve deeper into the March 25th order than any investigation has before and hopefully provide the answers that so many devastated New Yorkers have been desperately seeking since 2020, Wenstrup said.
The victims families deserve accountability not only for the disastrous must-admit policies, but for thecover up that ensued, he added.
Wenstrup also said the transcribed interview would delve intoa $5 million book dealthat Cuomo inked during the pandemic.
The COVID panel hadthreatened to subpoena Cuomolast year for testimony and latermade good on the threatbefore negotiating a time and place for him to answer lawmakers questions.
It was inappropriate to be worried about a book deal, Malliotakis told The Post. And the other thing was the numbers the numbers that the attorney general found were low-balled to make him continuetolook like he was doing a great job in New York when the death count showed otherwise.
Cuomoresigned in August 2021after a probe by New York State Attorney General Letitia James concluded he had sexually harassed or mistreated 11 women during his time in office.
Since leaving office, the former governor has reportedly been eyeing a political comeback, with insiders telling The Postrecently that he may challenge Eric Adamsfor New York City mayor in 2025.
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Patients with chronic lung diseases including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis are significantly more likely to experience more severe outcomes and mortality risk within 30 days of having COVID-19, according to research published in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society. They are also less likely to experience a mild form of the virus than the general population.
A new study from a team of US-based investigators observed correlation between certain chronic lung diseases and worsened COVID-19 outcomes among the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) population. Though consistent with previous research into the association between pre-existing respiratory disease and risk of severe disease from SARS-CoV-2 infection, the new findings add more insight into the absolute and relative risk of specific chronic lung diseases relevant to COVID-19.
A team of investigators led by Kristina Crothers, MD, of the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health System and the Department of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at University of Washington, sought to the determine the association of various chronic lung diseases with COVID-19 severitydefined as hospitalization risk, indicators of critical care, and 30-day mortality.
There is a known association between pre-existing respiratory disease and risk of severe disease from SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Image credit: Mongkolchon - stock.adobe.com
Among the diseases they compared were COPD, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, asthma, sarcoidosis and other interstitial lung diseases (ILDs). As the team noted, previous research into the association of respiratory diseases with SARS-CoV-2 infection have given mixed results.
Asthma generally has not been associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes, except severe asthma may increase risk for hospitalizations, critical illness and death in some reports, they wrote. COPD has been more consistently associated with increased risk of mortality in those with COVID-19, but not all studies have found an association with mortality in fully adjusted models.
Previous research also found that COVID-19 is not linked to asthma developing in children, even though respiratory viral infections early in life are known to be a risk factor for asthma.2
Crothers and colleagues used the VHA, the largest national health system in the US, for the analysisciting both its robust data and the high prevalence of chronic respiratory disease among veterans. They conducted a multinomial regression analysis to determine the risk of 4 mutually exclusive outcomes from COVID-19 within 30 days of diagnosis: outpatient management; hospitalization; hospitalization with indicators of critical illness; and death. Eligible patients were diagnosed with any of COPD (mild or severe disease); asthma (mild, active or severe disease); idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; sarcoidosis; or other ILDs, and were treated for COVID-19 between March 2020 and April 2021.
The overall proportion for each outcome was calculated including absolute risk difference and risk ratios for each outcome between those with and without chronic respiratory disease. The team additionally sought to describe clinical and laboratory abnormalities per chronic disease type among patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
The final analysis included 208,283 veterans with COVID-19; among them, 35,587 (17%) were diagnosed with a chronic respiratory disease. The median age of patients with respiratory disease was 10 years older (70) versus those without (60). Patients with lung disease were additionally more likely to be White (71% vs 66%), with a smoking history (69% vs 52%), and possess high-risk comorbidities including coronary heart disease (50% vs 24%).
The most common lung disease in the cohort was COPD (12%), of which 29% had severe disease. Another 5.9% of the cohort had asthma, of which 52% had active disease. Only 1.1% of the cohort had any ILD, with nearly half having idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Investigators observed that veterans with chronic lung disease who were hospitalized with COVID-19 were more likely to report low body temperature, mean arterial pressure, oxygen saturation, leukopenia and thrombocytopenia. These patients additionally were more likely to receive oxygen, mechanical ventilation and vasopressors to treat their COVID-19.
Whats more, veterans with chronic lung disease were significantly less likely to have a mild case of COVID-19 (4.5%; adjusted risk ratio [aRR], 0.94; 95% CI, 0.94-0.95) than those without. Additionally, they were more likely to report a moderate (aRR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.10-1.20) or critical (aRR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.32 1.45) case of COVID-19 than those without. The same patients were approximately 15% more likely to die from COVID-19 (aRR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.10-1.20).
Among the observed chronic lung diseases, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis was most significantly associated with COVID-19 severity; such patients reported an aRR of 1.69 for mortality (95% CI, 1.46-1.96). Other ILDs, as well as both mild and severe cases of COPD, were also significantly associated with significant risk of fatal outcomes at 30 days post-COVID.
Interestingly, investigators observed less severe 30-day COVID-19 outcomes among patients with asthma, regardless of disease status.
Since the earliest months of assessment into COVID-19related comorbidity risks, COPD has frequently been identified as a key risk factor for mortality. Research from October 2020 suggested an up to 3-fold increased risk of mortality among patients with both COPD and COVID-19despite the prevalence of patients with COPD hospitalized due to COVID-19 was below average at the time.3
Indeed, the new research from Crothers and colleagues further elucidates the relative and absolute risk difference in severe outcomes and clinical manifestations of COVID-19 among patients with chronic lung disease, 4 years since such a concern was first raised.1
Veterans with [chronic lung disease] were older and had more comorbidities, and when hospitalized with COVID-19, were more likely to present with hypoxemia, a lower mean arterial pressure and hypo-inflammatory profile, with lower temperature, leukopenia and thrombocytopenia, they concluded. Overall, our results provide insight into the relative and absolute risk associated with different [chronic lung diseases] for severity of COVID-19 outcomes and can help inform considerations of healthcare utilization and prognosis. Patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, other ILDs and COPD should especially be encouraged to receive SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations, which can help reduce risk of severe COVID-19.
References
(NEXSTAR) It took just a few weeks for a new COVID variant to rank as the most prominent in the U.S., unseating its fellow FLiRT spin-off of the once-dominant Omicron variant.
The latest projections from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show KP.3, a sublineage of the JN.1 lineage of the Omicron variant, may comprise 25% of the COVID tests sequenced in the country. Close behind is KP.2, which may make up about 22% of COVID cases.
CDC estimates for late May, the most recent available, show KP.3 may be most prevalent across states in the West and South. KP.2 is most common across the Midwest and Northeast.
This comes after the CDC reported last week that COVID infections are believed to be growing or likely growing in 30 states and territories. In 18 others, cases are estimated to be stable or uncertain, while only one state Oklahoma is believed to be seeing a decline in cases.
Michigan is clocking about 76 cases daily as of June 1, the latest state data shows, and there were no COVID-19-related deaths that week.
While previous FLiRT variants KP.1.1 and KP.2 appear relatively similar to JN.1, experts have warned KP.3 may be better at evading immunity. However, KP.2 and KP.3 are still relatively similar, Dr. Natalie Thornburg, the chief lab official for the CDCs Coronavirus and Other Respiratory Viruses Division explained last week.
When it comes to the symptoms the variants are sparking, officials say its too soon to tell if theyre causing anything unusual, like the increase in pink eye symptoms associated with XBB.1.16 reported last spring.
Speaking with TODAY, Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of infectious disease at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said these FLiRT variants will likely not cause very distinctive symptoms. He added that these variants also dont seem to cause severe cases.
The CDC lists the main symptoms of COVID as:
However, the CDC notes these are not all of the possible symptoms of COVID as they can vary based on the person and the variant.
A spokesperson for the agency tells USA Today that brain fog, or feeling less wakeful and aware, and upset stomach may also occur in patients with KP.3.
If you experience any COVID symptoms that arent better explained by another cause, the CDC recommends staying home and away from others. If you have risk factors for severe illness, experts recommend seeking medical care for testing and/or treatment.
Ultimately, it depends on when you got your last dose.
Previously, health officials have said the COVID vaccines would provide protection from the virus for several months. In a February update on the newest vaccine booster made available in September, the CDC said that while it had (from September to January) been effective, they expected that protection would decline over time as had been seen with previous doses.
However, because the FLiRT variants are relatively new, there isnt enough data to show whether the vaccine or immunity from a recent case of COVID will provide effective protection against them.
Schaffner previously explained that lab studies have suggested that the vaccines will at least provide partial protection.
The newest COVID vaccine, expected to be released in fall, is set to target JN.1, an FDA panel determined last week. While it is not the most dominant variant in the U.S. anymore, annual vaccines are typically created based on a strain that closely relates to the most common variant at the time doses are being given.
A nurse administers a pediatric dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to a girl at a L.A. Care Health Plan vaccination clinic at Los Angeles Mission College in the Sylmar neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, Jan. 19, 2022. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images/TNS)
This fall, prepare for the latest round of COVID vaccine Whac-a-Mole. Like the old arcade game, no matter how many shots we get, the enemy always pops back up.
But heres why the new shot, recommended by FDA advisers last week, makes sense: It targets a new version of the virus, the FDA panel said. It bolsters your bodys ever-growing defense system. And its a lot better than getting very sick or hospitalized.
Last years shot isnt holding up. Protection against both infection and severe illness is waning.
Effectiveness has decreased, as the time since vaccination has increased and as new SARS-CoV-2 variants emerge, said biostatistician Danyu Lin of the University of North Carolina School of Global Public Health, who presented worrisome new data to the FDA advisory panel.
The old vaccines effectiveness peaked one month after the shot, Lins team found. After four weeks, the vaccines were 52.2% effective at preventing infection and 66.8% effective at preventing hospitalization. After 10 weeks, the effectiveness at preventing infection decreased to 32.6% while the effectiveness at preventing hospitalization decreased to 57.1%.
By comparison, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that with the annual influenza shot, during seasons when flu vaccine viruses are similar to circulating flu viruses, flu vaccine has been shown to reduce the risk of having to go to the doctor with flu by 40% to 60%.
Last Wednesday, FDAs advisers, a panel of physicians from hospitals and universities around the nation, unanimously voted to recommend a new vaccine. Vaccine manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna say they were prepared to make updated vaccines available in August, pending final FDA approval. As in previous years, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control will make specific recommendations for the elderly, immunocompromised, youth and other groups.
The new vaccine will target a variant of the ever-evolving coronavirus called JN.1. Last years vaccine was based on the XBB lineage of the virus.
Fortunately, the COVID virus isnt changing in a way that would make it a serious threat to most people turning it into something far deadlier, such as Ebola. Each new version is a subvariant of the omicron variant that first appeared in 2021 and, though highly transmissible, hasnt proven to be particularly virulent.
But it is drifting in smaller ways, complicating our vaccine strategy. The original virus first detected in Wuhan, China, was replaced by the alpha variant, which was replaced by the delta variant, which was replaced by the omicron variant. A subvariant called BA.1, then BA.2, became the most common circulating versions of omicron.
Since then, the virus family has continued to multiply and diversify. Theres an evolutionary arms race as the immune system makes new antibodies, the virus develops new mutations. Each iteration seeks to offer some sort of advantage, such as an ability to sidestep the immune system or extreme contagiousness.
Late in 2023, variant JN.1 overtook the XBB lineage.
Theres a wrinkle in the new vaccine strategy: By next fall, JN.1 may not be the dominant virus. Already, a subvariant called KP.2 is on the rise. But the new vaccine formula likely will be effective against both strains and, because manufacturing takes time, a decision must be made now.
When compared against results from the original shot, the benefit of the new shot may seem modest. Thats because the original vaccines were given to a completely unprotected population, with high risk of hospitalization and death, said Lin. Now, with four years of inoculations and infections, the general population has a wide range of vulnerabilities.
While the vaccine is free to both insured and uninsured individuals, this cost is still real. The federal government paid, on average, $20.69 per dose, and the cost of the new vaccine is likely to be higher. But vaccines save money by preventing hospitalization, lost productivity due to illness and potential Long COVID.
Powerful combination vaccines are on the horizon, easing the chore of multiple shots. On Monday, Moderna announced that, in a Phase 3 clinical trial, its combination COVID and influenza vaccine generated stronger immune responses in older adults than individual vaccines targeting those viruses individually. A combo shot could be on the market as early as autumn 2025.
The FDA news comes as Americans are vaccine-weary and increasingly indifferent. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that, as of March, a mere 28% of American adults have been vaccinated with the latest vaccine. Why bother with another shot? Medical experts say there are still many reasons to get the jab:
Protection from previous shots, especially the primary series, has waned so some people are getting very sick. Research shows that a large percentage of those hospitalized for COVID-19 had been vaccinated with the primary series but hadnt gotten an updated shot.
Each additional shot helps. There is evidence that each vaccine or infection, especially in the first few months after receipt, provides added protection against critical illness and hospitalization. Through multiple immunizations, your repertoire of immune cells expands, said Jeremy Kamil, a virologist at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport, who studies variant mutations. Your body learns to make these very potent antibodies that are active against multiple strains of the virus, so it becomes harder for the virus to wiggle away from them. Youre much better defended.
If you get infected, it will likely be less severe. Think of seatbelts and airbags they dont prevent car crashes, but they boost your chance of survival. Similarly, COVID vaccines are not 100% protective, but an immune response will be more vigorous, so your illness will likely be briefer. Furthermore, research shows that vaccines help protect against Long COVID.
Vaccines are easier on your body than infection. A sore arm and perhaps body chills are better than days of illness and perhaps hospitalization. Youre setting yourself up for success the next time you see the virus, said Kamil. Your immune system will say, oh, I gotcha. I know who you are.
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CHELAN Four years after the COVID-19 pandemic began, the popular Chelan waterpark Slidewaters has agreed to pay a reduced fine for refusing to close its doors during the opening months of the public health emergency.
Washingtons Department of Labor and Industries fined the park more than $9,600 in July 2020 for reopening despite the governors order to close gathering places throughout the state.
The conservative nonprift Freedom Foundation stepped up to provide legal representation to the waterpar, which went on tofight the COVID rules in federal courtand lose in every venue as courts upheld Gov. Jay Inslee's emergency powers as constitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the park's final appeal.
But the administrative fine remained unpaid, and was under appeal in Chelan County Superior Court until this week. Slidewaters and L&I agreed to a reduced penalty of just over $7,200, and asked the judge to dismiss the case.
Slidewaters must pay its fine in scheduled installments by July 2025.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), in response to a request from the US federal government, has published a new consensus diagnosis for long COVID.
While working groups, national governments, and health organizations have all offered definition of long COVID, no general consensus exists.
"Inconsistencies in definitions have created challenges, and a consensus definition could promote consistency in diagnosis, aid awareness efforts, help patients access appropriate care, services, and benefits, and help harmonize Long COVID research and surveillance," the authors said.
Inconsistencies in definitions have created challenges.
The definition, which can be applied to both children and adults, reads: "Long COVID (LC) is an infection-associated chronic condition (IACC) that occurs after SARS-CoV-2 infection and is present for at least 3 months as a continuous, relapsing and remitting, or progressive disease state that affects one or more organ systems."
In a press release on the definition, Harvey Fineberg, MD, PhD, president of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the chair of the authoring committee said, "The lack of a consistent definition for Long COVID has hampered research and delayed diagnosis and care for patients. Our committee hopes this single definition, crafted with input from across research and patient communities, will help to educate the public about this widespread and highly consequential disease state."
The NASEM emphasizes that long COVID can follow asymptomatic, mild, or severe cases of COVID-19.
"LC can be diagnosed on clinical grounds. No biomarker currently available demonstrates conclusively the presence of LC," the authors wrote.
The definition, and the term "long COVID," should be used by clinicians, researchers, drugmakers, employers, and educators, the authors said.
"Long COVID is a devastatingly persistent result of the COVID-19 pandemic that the medical community has yet to fully address," said Victor J. Dzau, MD, president of the National Academy of Medicine. "Serving this patient population through better-coordinated care, more definitive diagnoses, and more efficient and streamlined research are important next steps for addressing its impact.
Last week the NASEM issued a major report outlining findings in patients who have long COVID, including that more than 200 symptoms have been associated with the condition.
