Research updates, January 7

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January 7, 2025

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 Boston, Massachusetts, will test the drug in doses of 50 mg and 100 mg, as well as a placebo, for 12 weeks. Notably, the trial’s sponsors include Pfizer. Contact: BIDMC-CVVRTRIALS@bidmc.harvard.edu.

A small, patient-led study of 13 participants suggested that longer courses of the COVID-19 antiviral drug Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir) may help some people with Long COVID. Published in Nature Communications Medicine, researchers documented the use of the drug from 7.5 to 30 days in people with Long COVID. While some participants did not notice a benefit, others experienced “meaningful reduction in symptoms,” though not all of the benefits of the treatment persisted. “These cases emphasize the need to study longer courses of antiviral therapy for Long COVID,” the study’s authors wrote.

A new survey from the New York City Health Department found that 80% of adults who had COVID-19 had at least one symptom for a month following their infection. The most common symptoms reported in the survey of over 2,000 participants included fatigue and exercise intolerance.“Black and Latino communities, women, transgender people, and those living in low-income neighborhoods were more likely to have symptoms, highlighting the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on marginalized communities,” said Acting Health Commissioner Michelle Morse in a press release.

*Editor’s note: Julia Moore Vogel, an author of Paxlovid study, is on The Sick Times’ advisory board. Other authors are also affiliated with the Patient-Led Research Collaborative, which shares a funding source (the Balvi and Kanro funds) with The Sick Times. One author (JD Davids) is affiliated with Long COVID Justice, with which we collaborated on the Long COVID Essentials series. Our newsroom operates independently of financial supporters.