News from the USA, United States of America

[Sean]

Researchers argue that politicization is obscuring scientific findings and that reduced federal support undermines the need for expanded research, monitoring, and prevention. They emphasize that COVID’s chronic impacts could have lasting economic and societal consequences and remain poorly understood, reinforcing calls for more sustained public health investment.​

Just continuing on the tradition of the last 50 years on this kind of stuff.

 

[Dolphin]

Source: National Library of Medicine
Date: February 3, 2026
URL: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov


Notice
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Because of a lapse in government funding, the information on this website may not be up to date, transactions submitted via the website
may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted. The NIH Clinical Center (the research hospital of NIH) is open. For more details about its operating status, please visit https://www.cc.nih.gov. Updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be
found at https://www.opm.gov.

 

[Dolphin]

NotJustFatigue on IG:

@Notjustfatigue CRITICAL CONGRESSIONAL UPDATE

Big step forward for ME/CFS: the L-HHS bill has passed, sending it to the President’s desk for signature. This bill contains the strongest language for ME/CFS in recent years, if ever. At #NotJustFatigue, we’ve been advocating for this for almost two years.

It directs NIH to come back within 180 days with a detailed plan to implement the ME/CFS Research Roadmap. This is a huge step toward real progress—Congress is asking NIH to spell out how it will move forward on biomarkers, diagnostic tools, and clinical trials so patients can finally see a path toward treatments.

The bill also calls for Long COVID research at NIH and ARPA-H to better include people with ME/CFS, PEM, and POTS, helping ensure patients aren’t left out of the search for answers.

#mecfs #pwme #longcovid #millionsmissing

 

[ahimsa]

Big step forward for ME/CFS: the L-HHS bill has passed, sending it to the President’s desk for signature. This bill contains the strongest language for ME/CFS in recent years, if ever. At #NotJustFatigue, we’ve been advocating for this for almost two years.

It directs NIH to come back within 180 days with a detailed plan to implement the ME/CFS Research Roadmap. This is a huge step toward real progress—Congress is asking NIH to spell out how it will move forward on biomarkers, diagnostic tools, and clinical trials so patients can finally see a path toward treatments.

#MEAction also reported on this on their website:

Congress Tells NIH: Develop Plan to Implement ME/CFS Research Roadmap

Congress has directed NIH to develop an implementation plan for the ME/CFS Research Roadmap within 180 days — a major step forward in the fight for treatments, clinical trials, and funding.

www.meaction.net

 

[rvallee]

We sent a letter to the NIH Director calling on him to allocate $50 million of discretionary funding to the roadmap - funding from the Office of the Director - and he has agreed to meet with us to discuss the plan and funding. We are currently scheduling a meeting with him, and will keep you posted.

 

[Chandelier]

Maryland considers Long COVID innovation bill - The Sick Times

Maryland may soon become the first U.S. state to directly support Long COVID research and development. The state’s government is considering a bill that would establish a grant and loan program dedicated to the disease, potentially funding scientists and start-ups based in Maryland.

thesicktimes.org

Maryland may soon become the first U.S. state to directly support Long COVID research and development. The state’s government is considering a bill that would establish a grant and loan program dedicated to the disease, potentially funding scientists and start-ups based in Maryland.

 

[SNT Gatchaman]

Disability rates in the US continue to rise. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=1RzIB

36.5 million people 16y+, with a disability. (There might be new data tomorrow according to the web site).

 

[Hutan]

Truncated y axis, but gosh, that's still so significant. Maybe we should be collecting these bits of evidence of major increases in disability rates, links to published papers as well into a thread. They seem very important for advocacy - 'listen, governments, everyone, this is a compelling reason why you should care'.

 

[Chandelier]

Moderna says FDA refuses to review its application for experimental flu shot

Moderna said the move is inconsistent with previous feedback from the FDA on the experimental influenza shot, called mRNA-1010.

www.cnbc.com

Moderna says FDA refuses to review its application for experimental flu shot​

KEY POINTS

• The Food and Drug Administration has refused to start a review of Moderna’s application for its experimental flu shot, the company said.
• It’s another sign of the Trump administration’s influence on tightening vaccine regulation in the U.S.
• Moderna said the move is inconsistent with previous feedback the FDA gave before it submitted the application and started phase three trials on the shot, called mRNA-1010, and that the agency did not identify any specific safety or efficacy issues with the vaccine.

 

[Sean]

It is staring the medical profession and governments right in the face, and yet...

*crickets*

 

[rvallee]

Truncated y axis, but gosh, that's still so significant. Maybe we should be collecting these bits of evidence of major increases in disability rates, links to published papers as well into a thread. They seem very important for advocacy - 'listen, governments, everyone, this is a compelling reason why you should care'.

Definitely would be useful because it's also common framing when authorities and experts talk about the situation in their country to, somehow, assert that it's not happening anywhere else, when in fact it seems to be happening everywhere. Medicine is oddly parochial. Everything depends on the quality of data, though, and there are very blatant institutional biases encouraging people to "find" no such thing.

But because of the state of things, at least for a while it will continue to be used as psychosomatic/biopsychosocial excuses. The conditions seem about ripe for the final stage in the fevered dream of making magical mind medicine frontline health care, especially with the retreat in medical research everywhere, with the US loss being especially significant since no one else is doing anything at this scale.

It's so bizarre how little money is invested in medical research, when it's one of the top investments for pure return on investment.

 

[bicentennial]

It's so bizarre how little money is invested in medical research, when it's one of the top investments for pure return on investment.

There must be something conducive to that bizarre lag

Would this comparative shrinkage in the resourcing of medical research involve habituation to the old process such that maybe a new process could relieve the world of the old process which looked like:

- big businesss got government to subisidise initial research then took over what worked and made all the profit, but lots of research got nowhere except to propose further research, and maybe lots of that was for academic and professional advancement, rather than for progress

In Germany the National Decade appears to require targeted selection of research proposals first, enought to then focus the otherwise scattergun experiments.

Also the German news showed behind the scenes some stringent routine checks on academic / clinical centre proposals for a commercial research partner. These checks might be consistent, or just handy if bias is allowed in regulation and governance, as happens

 

[Jaybee00]

HHS Secretary RFK Jr:“I'm not scared of a germ. I used to snort cocaine off of toilet seats.”

 

[Chandelier]

Tucson pilot wins long fight against FAA over ‘Long COVID’

It’s been more than two years since Michael Hotto was denied his medical certificate due to his history of “post-COVID neurocognitive deficits."

www.kold.com

Tucson pilot wins long fight against FAA over ‘Long COVID’​

AI Summary:

Tucson private pilot Michael Hotto has won a years-long battle with the FAA after being grounded over “post-COVID neurocognitive deficits.”
More than two years ago, the FAA denied his medical certificate following lingering symptoms from multiple COVID infections, including subtle coordination changes, memory difficulties, and loss of taste and smell.
Required to report his condition, Hotto underwent an eight-hour, $2,000 cognitive exam that found his scores largely normal, yet the FAA still denied his certificate and requested a follow-up evaluation.
After initially fighting the request, he paid over $5,000 to retake the exam, receiving favorable results. The FAA ultimately declared him eligible for a third-class medical certificate.
The process cost him over $10,000 and required rebuilding flight proficiency. While acknowledging the FAA’s safety role, Hotto said his case shows why some pilots fear reporting medical conditions.