Funding Cuts Force One Of North Carolina’s Only Long Covid Clinics To Shut Its Doors

(The News and Observer, Nora O’Neill) — Finding treatment may soon become more difficult for the thousands of North Carolinians battling long-term COVID-19 symptoms. The UNC COVID Recovery Clinic, one of the only clinics in the state designed to treat patients with Long COVID, closed on June 16 due to funding cuts, according to a news release.

“UNC Health had provided support for the clinical program since 2021 but is unable to continue funding,” a UNC Health spokesperson told The Charlotte Observer without specifying why. The clinic did not receive federal funding, the spokesperson said. Since 2021, the clinic in Chapel Hill has seen thousands of patients, most of whom report fatigue, brain fog, sleep impairment, shortness of breath and anxiety lasting months or years after a COVID-19 diagnosis, according to data from the clinic. Some doctors who work at the clinic will continue to treat patients through the UNC School of Medicine, the release said, and care will remain in the same space as the COVID Recovery Clinic. “We are committed to ensuring that all of these patients continue to receive medical care, with as little disruption as possible,” a spokesperson for UNC Health said in a statement to The Charlotte Observer.

But for patients like Gillian Lizars, a 38-year-old Durham resident living with Long COVID, the closure means decreased access to knowledgeable doctors and worries about long-term recovery. “I got sick at 33 and I’m turning 39 next month… and the Long COVID clinic has been just a lifesaver,” Lizars The Charlotte Observer. “I’m concerned for incoming patients who are on their fifth, sixth, 10th COVID infection, developing Long COVID, not knowing it, going to their (primary care physician) and their (primary care physician) has no one to send them to.”

The closure means patients will no longer be able to visit the clinic for dedicated social workers, doctor referrals outside the local area, disability paperwork and insurance prior authorizations, according to UNC’s release. Lizars said she also is worried that her current doctors will have less time to treat her and other patients with Long COVID. She said developing a medical record is crucial to getting proper insurance coverage, and without regular treatment, it could be hard to get coverage or approval for disability benefits. “When these doctors are exclusively in the Long COVID clinic, those are the only patients they’re treating,” Lizars said. “I will definitely still be trying to see them, but now I have to make an appointment five months in advance.”

What is Long COVID?

Long COVID is a term used to describe a range of symptoms some people experience after developing COVID-19, according to the UNC School of Medicine. For many, the symptoms include fatigue, weakness, shortness of breath, cough, sleep disorders and memory problems. In North Carolina, one out of six people have experienced Long COVID, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

Since symptoms are wide-ranging, many people who are experiencing Long COVID symptoms are “scattered throughout the health system,” John Baratta, a doctor at the clinic, said in a UNC Research article. The clinic was designed to coordinate treatment efforts for these patients and provide access to experts in different areas of medicine, he said. For Lizars, Long COVID has left her feeling sick for years. She said she has an accelerated heart rate, low blood pressure, fatigue, migraines, cognitive dysfunction, difficulty regulating her body temperature, incontinence, tinnitus, and light and sound sensitivity. “Physically, I have lived with the flu every day for the last five years,” Lizars said. “There are periods when symptoms are exacerbated and I have trouble forming sentences, I can’t find words. I forget that I’ve put things in the oven, and then I start smelling smoke. I can’t follow a recipe without messing it up. That never would happen before.”

Proper treatment for patients with Long COVID is hard to come by, Lizars said. People’s symptoms differ and primary care physicians aren’t always knowledgeable about the illness, she said. It has been a struggle living with an illness that does not have a clear path to recovery.

“For all intents and purposes, there is very little care. You don’t want a disease that doesn’t have any answers” Lizars said. “You don’t want a disease that has no plan, no treatment.”