Long COVID Awareness
Long COVID, caused by a SARS-CoV-2 infection, has led to irreparable harm to the health of the public. On March 15, many organizations, public health groups, and government agencies recognized Long COVID awareness day. Already millions of people are suffering from it, and many more people will likely develop Long COVID during this ongoing pandemic.
The public must oppose the ongoing installation of COVID minimizers by the Trump administration to lead various public health and medical agencies such as Health and Human Services (HHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS). There is an immense need for resources to develop treatments and therapeutics and accommodations for Long COVID. However, the Trump administration is already dismissing the importance of addressing Long COVID by eliminating the HHS advisory committee last month and this week closing the Office of Long COVID Research and Practice under HHS.
There have been some important scientific findings released in the past month on Long COVID. A Long COVID definition for clinicians was released based on the 2024 report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. A study examining Long COVID recovery showed that among a cohort of adults in August 2022 who had self-reported recovery from a COVID infection, lowest recovery rates were associated with worse social determinants of health. Recent evidence from a case-control study examining the impact of a COVID vaccination showed that children ages 5 to 17 who had the vaccination Dec 2022 to May 2023 also had lower odds of symptoms related to Long COVID conditions.
Wins
As a result of immense efforts by community organizers, California officially recognized March 15th as Long COVID Awareness Day after passage at the California legislature.
Keep on fighting – it works! Funding for telehealth services through Medicare by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid that included flexibilities was extended past the original expiration date of March 31, 2025 to September 30, 2025 due to your outreach. However, the Trump administration has plans on limiting access to telehealth services by bringing back rural and facility restrictions. Private insurance companies will likely follow suit, resulting in many more millions of Americans losing access to this important type of care. We will follow-up with additional action steps later in the year.
The Weather
The CDC-based wastewater map was updated on March 20. It shows 2 states with “Very High” and 15 states with “High” levels of SARS-CoV-2 in the wastewater while nearly 50% of all states and territories are at least at moderate levels. Guam, Mississippi, Missouri, South Dakota, and Virginia have limited coverage, meaning that data from those states are based on less than 5% of the population. There is no data for Montana, North Dakota, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The CDC has determined that national levels have increased from “low” to “moderate.”
As always, remember that the determination of the categories of “Very High,” “High,” “Moderate,” “Low,” and “Minimal” is independent of any relationship to community transmission. We continue to recommend as many layers of protection as possible!
Wastewater trends indicate slight increases in the South and the Midwest regions. Other regions have not changed except in the West where levels have slightly decreased.
Variants
According to the CDC’s variant tracking dashboard, updated on March 15, 2025, LP.8.1 has increased to 47% while variant XEC (a combination of two JN.1-derived variants: KS.1.1 and KP.3.3) has decreased to 26%, and KP.3.1.1 has slightly decreased to 5%.
Graphic source: CDC Variant Tracker
A child in San Francisco was infected with bird flu and their immediate contacts were tested for H5N1 antibodies with all close contacts tested and no detection of antibodies, indicating that exposures from this child did not lead to additional infections, which is good news. Bird flu continues to spread among birds in the wildlife and among poultry and dairy cows. In February 2025, there were 112 known outbreaks among poultry and in March 2025 (up through March 20th), there were 38 known outbreaks among poultry, a significant decrease. Nevertheless, we need a robust proactive public health response to bird flu.
Take Action
The COVID pandemic has not ended and yet the new leadership of HHS has stated it has ended and on March 25th has decided to end 11.4 billion dollars of funding allocated to state and local health departments that support vaccination, testing, and wastewater surveillance. Anticipate opportunities to oppose this decision by HHS in the coming weeks.
We must also oppose RFK Jr.’s attempts to stifle public comments with health policy decisions by ending the Richardson Waiver. More organizations must speak up against this action. Call your representatives to demand they pressure HHS to reopen public comments for any health policy decisions. The Trump administration is also considering ending CDC committees that have expert panelists who guide important public health policies such as HICPAC which guides safety standards in healthcare settings. We recognize the importance of these committees and that should not end but instead involve the public further. CMS has also proposed negative changes to the Affordable Care Act that will decrease access to health insurance coverage. We ask you to send a public comment through the Federal Register to oppose these changes.
The Trump administration continues to destroy current and future public health programs by deeply cutting health agency budgets. Join us and National Nurses United (NNU) in signing a petition to tell the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought to protect public health and stop the cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Oppose the confirmation of Jayanta Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, nominated for Director of the National Institutes of Health by the Trump administration. The nomination may lead to nationwide unchecked spread of infectious disease such as COVID-19 and potentially other infectious diseases. The Senate vote will be very soon. Send a letter opposing his nomination (over 3,000 letters sent already!) and contact your Senator in opposition!
Oppose the confirmation of Marty Makary, MD, nominated by the Trump Administration as the next Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), who has direct financial conflicts of interest has had a substantial role promoting ineffective treatments for infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Opposing this nominee is crucial in protecting the health of the American public from dangerous and ineffective products and other healthcare related devices. Follow our instructions to send a letter opposing his nomination (over 1,000 letters sent already) or directly contact your Senator in opposition!
Keep yourself and your community safer. As always, with the ongoing spread of infectious disease including COVID, flu, measles, and Tb here in the US, we need to keep ourselves and our communities safe using KF94/KN95/N95 masking and as many layers of protection as possible. Our updated Safer Gathering Guide provides recommendations for safer meetings and gatherings. Continue to share it!
Continue to disrupt the current state of so-called “order” in which few very rich people control what we can eat, breathe, and say. Find ways to do this locally: start a tenants association, organize your coworkers, join debt strikes and debt collectives. Join your community garden or spend time in other mutual aid organizing efforts in your community. And, wear and share masks to keep everyone safer while doing it.
Notes: 1) The numbers in this report were current as of 3/23/2024. 2) Check out the links throughout & see our website for more at https://peoplescdc.org. 3) Subscribe to our newsletter: People’s CDC | Substack.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The People’s CDC is a coalition of public health practitioners, scientists, healthcare workers, educators, advocates and people from all walks of life working to reduce the harmful impacts of COVID-19.
We provide guidance and policy recommendations to governments and the public on COVID-19, disseminating evidence-based updates that are grounded in equity, public health principles, and the latest scientific literature.
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