Betsy Rosecan, NOSSCR Government Relations Director

On August 2, 2024, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced S. 4964, the Long COVID Research Moonshot Act of 2024. The bill has five cosponsors, all Democrats. A companion bill has not yet been introduced in the House. S. 4964 was referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions where it is awaiting further action.

If enacted, his legislation would provide $1 billion in mandatory funding each year for 10 years to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support long COVID research, pursuit of new treatment options, and expanded care for long COVID patients nationwide. Among other things, the funding would go toward the creation of a long COVID database, advisory board, and new grant process that would accelerate clinical trials. Further, funding would be used to create multidisciplinary long COVID clinics. NOSSCR supports this legislation.

The text of the bill is not yet available online, but it can be found here once it is released.