In a major boost to research on long COVID and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), the German government has announced that it will provide '500 million (US$582 million) in research funding to support a National Decade Against Post-Infectious Diseases from 2026 to 2036. Germany is one of many countries facing an unprecedented health burden owing to long COVID and other post-infection syndromes since the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost one in five people in a German cohort had long COVID in 20221, and around one in seven people in the United States were affected by long COVID by late 20232. This translates to a significant burden on healthcare and the economy ' the syndrome is estimated to cost the world economy US$1 trillion every year3. 'From many conversations, I know what a great burden these illnesses represent for those affected and their families,' said Dorothee Bar, the German Federal Research Minister, in a press release announcing the...
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