Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chair of the Senate, Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, introduced on Aug. 2 the Long COVID Research Moonshot Act of 2024 (S. 4964).

The bill would provide the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with $1 billion in mandatory funding for 10 years to support long COVID research; require the NIH to establish a long COVID database, advisory board, and new grant processes that would accelerate clinical trials; fund information gathering and public health education; require new treatments developed to be reasonably priced; fund long COVID clinics; and develop and implement best practices for clinical care and social services.

In an accompanying press release, Sanders stated that the legislation "finally recognizes that long COVID is a public health emergency and provides an historic investment into research, development, and education needed to counter the effects of this terrible disease."

The legislation comes after Sanders released a draft legislative proposal on April 9 and joined a January Senate HELP Committee hearing on gaps and opportunities in the long COVID research landscape across federal health agencies [refer to Washington Highlights, April 12].