Long COVID Summit 2024

Long COVID Summit: Making the invisible, Thursday, September 12, 2024, with four circles containing images of diverse individuals against a dark blue background, and showing logos for the five partner organizations listed below

A Long COVID Summit, hosted by ASI Services, Bright Star Community Outreach, Illinois Unidos, and the UIC Office of Population Health Sciences was convened on Thursday, September 12, 2024.

The summit provided an update on the current research, strategies for raising public awareness and treating individuals with Long COVID, as well as a forum for discussion of current federal programs and ideas for expansion.

The goals of the summit were to:

  • Improve awareness by collecting, analyzing, reporting, and disseminating Long-COVID related public health data that drive change and track progress (Data)
  • Improve the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and management of Long COVID by improving the quality of care delivered (Healthcare)
  • Improve access to assistive services, including disability benefits (Policy)
  • Build Capacity for Community Based Organizations to address Long COVID (Community)

Summit Agenda Heading link

Time Program Speaker(s)
8:00-8:05am Welcome Dr. Lynn Gerald (Assistant Vice Chancellor for Population Health Sciences, UI Health)
8:05-8:15am Opening Remarks from the Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs Dr. Robert A. Barish (Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, UI Health)
8:15-8:30am Welcome from Community Health Partners and Summit Goals Marta Cerda (ASI Services), Felicia Davis Blakley, Alejandra L. Ibanez (Illinois Unidos), Elijah Kindred (Bright Star Community Outreach)
8:30-9:00am Definition of COVID-19 Allison O'Donnell (Office of Long COVID Research and Practice, HHS)
9:00-9:45am Legislative Look at Long COVID IL Senator Karina Villa
9:45-10:00am Long COVID: Lessons learned from the RECOVER observational study Dr. Jerry Krishnan (UI Health) and Dr. Linda Sprague Martinez (UConn)
10:00-10:30am Long COVID: The RECOVER Clinical Trials Dr. Kanecia Zimmerman (Duke)
10:30-10:45am Break
10:45-11:15am Long COVID Data and Gaps Dr. Olusimbo Ige (Commissioner, Chicago Department of Public Health)
11:15-12:00pm Panel: Long COVID Impact - Newly Disabled & systemic barriers to access services Marta Cerda (Moderator, ASI Services) • Dr. Alba Azola (Johns Hopkins) • Dr. Zanthia Wiley (Emory) • Rahnee Patrick (Division for Rehab Services, IDHS) • Dr. Jonathan D. Klein (Stanford) • Dr. Catherine Counard (IDPH) • Beth Finta (Southern Illinois Center for Independent Living)
12:00-12:45pm Lunch Break - Conversation on Boston Community Recovery Cohort Dr. Cheryl R. Clark (Brigham & Women’s Hospital; Harvard)
12:45-1:30pm Panel: Long COVID Impact on Minoritized communities Felicia Davis-Blakley (Moderator) • Dr. Geraldine Luna (CDPH, UIC) • Teresa Akintonwa (Black COVID Survivors Group) • Dr. Neeta Thakur (UCSF) • Dr. Daniel Turner-Llovares (National Latino Coalition Against COVID)
1:30-2:15pm Impact of COVID on Medicaid Enrollment Dr. Arvind Goyal (IL Medicaid Medical Director)
2:15-2:45pm AHRQ Long COVID Care Network Poonam Pardasaney (AHRQ/CEPI)