HHS in partnership with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality announced it will allocate nine grant awards of $1 million each, for five years, to support long COVID clinics.
"Emerging research continues to transform the way we think about and treat long COVID. To accelerate understanding and breakthroughs we'll need to continue to work together," Rachel Levine, MD, an assistant secretary for health with HHS, said in a Sept. 20 news release. "Without diagnostic tests and treatments specific for long COVID conditions, drawing on the collective experience of healthcare providers is critical in ensuring patients receive the care and support they need."
The grants are said to be the first of their kind and will provide support for clinics that specialize in long COVID-19 care by being put toward improving access to both virtual and in-person care, specific long COVID treatments, creating new satellite clinics, educational efforts and supporting staff.
This announcement comes just two months after the HHS announced the formation of the Office of Long COVID Research and Practice.