Description

In this episode (the last of 2024!): With little support and no approved treatments, online drug markets are one way that people with Long COVID are seeking to improve their quality of life.

This week, co-hosts Betsy Ladyzhets and Miles Griffis talk with producer James Salanga to recap reporting from freelancer Hannah Buttle about this phenomenon and the current state of potential Long COVID treatments. Also in this episode: the latest COVID-19 numbers, an update on H5N1, and more funding for Long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) research. 

The transcript for this podcast is ⁠available on The Sick Times' website⁠. You can jump to specific sections of the podcast and transcript below.

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:02:33) COVID-19 trends

(00:05:18) Top story — Overseas pharmacies for Long COVID symptom support

(00:18:20) Research — More funding for NIH RECOVER-TLC and ME biomarker research

(00:22:44) Outro

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Mentioned in this episode (in order of appearance):

• Still Here: Recapping the RECOVER-TLC kickoff; Low-dose naltrexone in clinical trials; Long COVID research under Trump

• The Sick Times: National COVID-19 trends, December 17
• CDC wastewater dashboard
• Biobot wastewater risk reports
• WastewaterSCAN dashboard
• The Sick Times: Wastewater surveillance for Covid-19 keeps evolving. Here’s what you need to know.
• U.S. free COVID tests: COVID-19 Testing  
• The Sick Times: With no approved treatments and little support, people with Long COVID turn to online drug markets
• Chemical & Engineering News: R&D for long COVID is collapsing 
• World Health Organization: Substandard and falsified medical products
• University of Liverpool: Liverpool COVID-19 Drug Interactions  
• The Sick Times and Long COVID Justice: Long COVID Essentials series
• Long COVID Studies
• The Sick Times: Want to enroll in a Long Covid clinical trial? This new project helps track them.
• The Sick Times: Research updates, December 17
• The Sick Times: NIH announces $147 million in additional Long COVID research funding, new budget details 

Additional audio in this episode: 

• Rude Mechanical Orchestra: Which Side Are You On? (orig. Florence Reece) 
• Pixabay: Thunder and the beginning of rainfall