White House to close federal long COVID office: report
The Trump administration’s decision to slash the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) workforce has led to the closure of the federal Office of Long COVID Research and Practice (OLC). Ian Simon, the head of the OLC, announced the closure in an email on Monday, as reported by Politico.
According to the email, the OLC will be shutting down as part of the administration’s reorganization efforts. Despite the closure, the office has made significant strides in advancing understanding, resources, and support for people living with long COVID. Fox News Digital reached out to HHS and Simon for further information but did not receive an immediate response.
It remains unclear when the OLC will officially close and whether its staff will continue to be employed by the federal government. The office was established during the Biden administration as a response to the long-term effects of COVID, which can result in chronic conditions requiring comprehensive care.
The decision to shutter the OLC comes after HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. expressed his commitment to prioritizing long COVID research during his confirmation hearing in January. However, President Trump directed HHS to terminate the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Long COVID in a presidential action last month.
Despite the closure of the OLC, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has approved over $1.5 billion for its Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) Initiative in recent years. This initiative focuses on studying the impact of long COVID and finding ways to enhance recovery for those affected.
In 2023, the NIH reported that 23 million people were affected by long COVID, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that 6% of American adults suffered from the condition, down from 7.5% in 2022. The email announcing the closure of the OLC expressed hope that the work dedicated to understanding long COVID will continue in some form.
Bonny Chu, a Digital Production Assistant at Fox News Digital, contributed to this article.
