Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine Receives $4-Million CDC Grant for ‘Covid Long Haulers’ Study

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, health care providers are finding that more patients are experiencing lingering symptoms after recovering from the virus. These symptoms include being bone-tired and utterly drained of energy, but in most cases, they continue to negatively impact the patient’s overall well-being and ability to return to normal activities.

While the medical community is working hard to address the virus itself and racing toward a vaccine, there is very little known or being done to address the residual health issues being experienced by those now called “COVID long haulers.”

All of that is about to change, however, thanks to research scientists like Nancy Klimas, M.D., director of the Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine and chair of the Department of Clinical Immunology. “Because of our long-standing research in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, we’ve been selected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to begin researching these symptoms in COVID-19 patients,” Klimas explained. “Because the symptoms are so similar—joint and muscle pain, severe fatigue, and memory and cognitive issues—to chronic fatigue syndrome, NSU is uniquely positioned to study this emerging development in the pandemic.”

Because of her expertise and the work she is involved with at the KPCOM, the CDC has awarded Klimas and her research team a federal contract of more than $4 million to study these residual symptoms in COVID-19 patients. NSU is the only institution to receive this federal contract.

Klimas and her team will work with the Florida Department of Health to identify potential participants. They will then contact individuals to explain the study and inquire about their interest to participate in the study.