What We’re Reading: Long COVID Initiative Failure; Third Human Bird Flu Case; Weight-Loss Drug Coverage Issues

NIH Documents Show Failure of Long COVID Initiative

There has been a lack of visible progress from RECOVER, the $1.6 billion initiative launched by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) more than 3 years ago to find the root causes of and potential treatments for long COVID, according to Stat. This lack of progress has drawn criticism from researchers, patient advocates, and lawmakers. Documents obtained by Stat through the Freedom of Information Act showed how early decision likely contributed to RECOVER’s slow start. Through these, one problem discovered was that the NIH set itself up for failure by not selecting scientists familiar with postinfectious chronic diseases. However, some say the NIH could turn RECOVER around by using $515 million in additional funding allocated earlier this year to support high-impact clinical trials and biological research.

Third Person Infected With Bird Flu

The CDC detected a third human case of bird flu linked to sick dairy cows on Thursday in Michigan, according to NBC News. In the previous 2 cases, the patients’ only sign of illness was conjunctivitis. However, this latest patient also had upper respiratory symptoms, like cough, congestion, and sore throat. Although the risk increases with respiratory symptoms, the CDC noted that there is no indication yet that the virus is spreading from person to person. However, it is performing genetic testing on samples of the virus taken from the patient to look for changes indicating whether it is mutating in ways that would allow it to be more transmissible; these results could be available within days.

Half of All Workers May Struggle to Get Weight-Loss Drug Coverage

Small businesses and their workers are struggling to receive weight-loss drug insurance coverage, according to CNBC. Although use cases for GLP-1 agonists continue to increase, many of the 100 million American adults who are classified as obese cannot afford to pay out of pocket for the drugs and are turning to their employers for help; the drugs cost about $1000 per month. However, covering these drugs are harder for small businesses, many of whom rely on off-the-shelf plans offered by their insurance carriers. Also, although some plans cover GLP-1 drugs, the costs are unaffordable for many small businesses. Consequently, for small businesses to cover GLP-1 drugs, they need to consider the impact on employee wages or other benefits they may like to offer. In some cases, small employers are priced out of the market completely and must accept they cannot offer the desired coverage.