The US Department of Health and Human Services has allocated major grant funding to 12 Long COVID clinics across the country, including the University of Washington Medicine’s clinic in Seattle. The clinics aim to expand access to treatment for post-viral COVID-19 symptoms, which can vary widely among patients.
According to UW Medicine’s Dr. Janna L. Friedly, a professor and chair of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, health systems are not currently funding Long COVID clinics. This lack of infrastructure is affecting vulnerable populations, particularly those with higher rates of Long COVID.
Friedly’s clinic opened during the early stages of the pandemic to treat hospitalized patients with ongoing symptoms. She has seen firsthand the impact of lingering symptoms and has become an expert on the condition. Long COVID requires individualized, comprehensive care that can be challenging to access due to clinic scarcity and burnout among providers.
The federal funding has been helpful in filling a major gap in care related to the pandemic. However, Friedly emphasizes that more support is needed to ensure broad access to care for patients with Long COVID. Part of the difficulty lies in a lack of clarity around the condition’s prevalence and underlying mechanisms.
Studies suggest that 6.4% of adults in Washington state had post-COVID symptoms in October 2023. The condition disproportionately affects Black and Hispanic Americans, according to a National Institutes of Health study. To address this issue, Friedly’s clinic is working to provide primary care providers with better tools and training for treating Long COVID patients.
The goal is to disrupt the cycle of unnecessary treatments and costly alternative therapies that often plague patients seeking relief. The clinic offers consultations with primary care physicians and is developing clinical guides and patient education materials around Long COVID. A “mini-fellowship” program will also train and certify clinicians in Long COVID care, an essential step towards incorporating this expertise into medical education.
Despite the progress made, Friedly acknowledges that more needs to be done to address the growing healthcare gap for patients with Long COVID.
Source: https://www.cascadepbs.org/news/2025/02/many-washington-long-covid-care-remains-out-reach