A Long Haul UP

A round-up of how I’ve been moving forward with Long COVID and what’s going on in Long COVID news.

One of the more concerning recent developments related to COVID are the mask bans being passed in several places. Image by freepik

It was Aug. 2, when my phone buzzed with glorious news: a notification from the Sick Times, a journalist-run website dedicated to covering the Long COVID crisis. The post announced that Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders had introduced the Long COVID Research Moonshot Bill. This bill is one that nearly 17.7 million Americans and over 400 million people globally have been hoping for, myself included.

I began to read the Long COVID Moonshot Bill. As a Long Hauler, I know what it needs to include. And I was entirely sure it wouldn’t include everything it should: prevention, education, tests, treatment.

Thankfully, the bill will specifically allocate $116 million for FDA data collection to identify Long COVID treatment options, and $30 million for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to educate doctors about Long COVID.

The day I was finally diagnosed with Long COVID was over a year ago, and yet I still remember it clear as day.

February 2023 — I sat in front of the second neurologist I’d seen since I’d moved home, my spirit nearly broken. I was 24 and terrified. My Long COVID symptoms mirror myalgic encephalomyelitis. I hadn’t worked out or had a job…