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- 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. Some exploratory analyses, including patient-reported outcomes and a six-minute walking test, found that the drug helped with fatigue and physical performance. Still, the study did not have a placebo. “These findings should be interpreted cautiously, but they provide a strong rationale for further investigation,” author Mark Faghy wrote about the study, stating the need for a randomized controlled trial.
- A new study found that one in 10 U.S. healthcare workers reported ongoing Long COVID symptoms through 2024, according to research published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine. The survey study included 1,496 participants from 17 states who tested positive for COVID-19 between August 2022 and May 2024. Participants took two surveys, one at three months and one at six months following their infections;more than 11% reported at least one persistent symptom of Long COVID in both surveys. Another recent large study from the U.K. we previously wrote about found one in four healthcare workers reported Long COVID earlier in the pandemic.
- PolyBio Research Foundation recently announced $15 million in funding for its Long COVID Cure Initiative, which aims to accelerate treatments for Long COVID. The funding was announced during an event in Boston with Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, as well funders Steve and Judy Pagliuca. “To everyone living with Long COVID: we see you, we hear you, and we are committed to making sure you have the treatments and support you deserve,” Governor Healey said at the event, according to a press release. PolyBio stated that the clinical research infrastructure developed by the initiative is also expanding to include chronic Lyme disease.
