As U.S. officials have learned about the lingering symptoms from COVID-19 cases over the past two years, both federal and state governments have promised continued support and resources to Long COVID patients.

But more than two years after the first Long COVID patients drew attention to their condition, the federal government’s response to this crisis has been frustratingly slow, experts say. Government-funded research has moved slowly, patients face gaps in medical care and disability support programs may be difficult to access, among other challenges.

While the exact number of Americans with Long COVID is unclear, even the lowest estimates indicate a large number are suffering with symptoms, some potentially for years to come. According to the CDC and Census’s Household Pulse Survey, 14% of U.S. adults have experienced Long COVID symptoms at some point during the pandemic.

Is the Biden administration taking Long COVID as seriously as it should be? How has the government provided support to patients, or how has it disappointed them?

If you are a patient, advocate, caregiver, researcher or someone else connected to the Long COVID community, we want to hear your thoughts on these questions. Your responses will shape our reporting as we pursue a comprehensive project on the administration’s response to this issue. 

Text excerpted from writing by Betsy Ladyzhets. Image via Shutterstock.

▶ DHS gets into policing false information: A new investigation by The Intercept reveals details of the Department of Homeland Security's efforts to research and influence misinformation shared online that could potentially threaten government interests. Key priorities for DHS currently include “the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, racial justice, U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the nature of U.S. support to Ukraine." Underlying documents from the investigation are available on DocumentCloud.

▶ $20,000 FOIA request: The Virginia NAACP chapter has submitted a deposit of nearly $20,000 to the state attorney general for a public records request about the AG's Election Integrity Unit, a new initiative to investigate violations of state election law that NAACP representatives view as a potential means to disenfranchise voters of color. The fee was based on an estimate of about 500 hours required to produce the requested records, reported Charlotte Rene Woods at the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

• Expediting Census data: Columbia professor Justin Phillips and Harvard's Election Law Clinic have filed a FOIA lawsuit against the Census Bureau, seeking files from the 2020 Census that wouldn't otherwise be published until 2023. NPR reporter Hansi Lo Wang shared the lawsuit on DocumentCloud.
• School COVID cases: Throughout 2022, MuckRock user Justin Beck has filed regular FOIA requests to the public school district in Riverside, California, for the district's COVID-19 case numbers. His most recent request was filed Tuesday.
• FBI delays: In June 2018, MuckRock user Paul Galante filed a request to the FBI for a specific file about Soviet possession of communications. The request was finally completed this week.

For The Record was written by Betsy Ladyzhets and edited by Derek Kravitz.