Positioning and Advancing Clinical Pharmacists: ACCP Endorses Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Long COVID Initiative

Earlier this year, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) issued an open letter to stakeholders calling for input on a draft legislative proposal that would address the Long COVID crisis that is negatively affecting the health of some 22 million Americans. Click here to read ACCP’s comments. On August 6, 2024, Senator Sanders introduced the Long Covid Research Moonshot Act of 2024, which would provide the NIH with $1 billion in mandatory funding per year for 10 years to support studies, the pursuit of treatments, and the expansion of care for U.S. patients affected by the condition.

Senator Sanders serves as chair of the powerful Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP). In January, the HELP Committee held a hearing on Long COVID that featured testimony from patients and the country’s leading Long COVID researchers to consider how the United States could advance treatments and improve the health of those living with the illness.

ACCP was joined by 47 national and local organizations in endorsing this important initiative:

#MEAction, American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPM&R), American Association on Health and Disability, American Medical Student Association, Association for Community Organization and Social Action, Association of University Centers on Disabilities, Bay Area Lyme Foundation, BIPOC Equity Agency, Black COVID Survivors Alliance, Body Politic, Center for Popular Democracy Action, COVID-19 Longhauler Advocacy Project, Disability Rights California, Disability Visibility Project, Healthcare NOW, Infectious Diseases Society of America, Lakeshore Foundation, Long COVID Alliance, Long COVID Campaign, Long COVID Families, Long COVID Moonshot, Long COVID Physio, LymeDisease.org, Marked by COVID, Maryland Indoor Air Quality Advocates, Massachusetts ME/CFS & FM Association, ME/CFS Clinician Coalition, Minnesota ME/CFS Alliance, Mount Sinai Health System, National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities, National Association of County & City Health Officials (NACCHO), National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives (NOSSCR), National Pain Advocacy Center, National Partnership for Women and Families, New Disabled South, New Disabled South Rising, Open Medicine Foundation, Pandemic Patients, Patient-Led Research Collaborative, Senior and Disability Action, Solve M.E., Strategies for High Impact/Long COVID Justice, Umoja Health Bay Area, Vaccinate Your Family, Vermont Center for Independent Living, Vermont Coalition for Disability Rights, Workwell Foundation

ACCP’s response cited a 2022 paper published in the Journal of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (JACCP) titled “A Primer on Post-COVID-19 Conditions and Implications for Clinical Pharmacists,” which explores how clinical pharmacists are essential team members in optimizing the treatment of patients with a wide range of lingering symptoms collectively known as “post-COVID conditions.” Recognition of these conditions as a clinical entity represents the first step in developing a targeted plan for recovery and symptom mitigation.

Clinical pharmacists are a vital addition to the care team managing the transition-of-care process as patients are discharged from the hospital and reenter the community. Medications that may have been used for acute COVID-19 may no longer be appropriate upon discharge. This is an opportunity for clinical pharmacists to intervene and collaborate with other health care professionals to optimize patient care and prevent possible harm. Furthermore, patients who develop post-COVID conditions may benefit from additional therapies to mitigate their new COVID-19 manifestations; however, these medications must be initiated mindfully, regarding both drug clearance and clinically significant interactions with other drugs or disease states. Clinical pharmacists are uniquely positioned not only to evaluate evolving post-COVID literature, but also to balance these new treatment modalities or old treatment options for new indications with existing chronic disease states.