Video, Transcript and Panelist Information for New York State Department of Health’s Expert Consortium to Address Long COVID

ALBANY, N.Y. ( February 3, 2022) - State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett: "I noted early on in my time as Commissioner that while we must halt the spread of COVID-19, we must also take a broad view of its many impacts. This includes the toll that COVID-19 has taken on the mental health of New Yorkers – especially our children. It also means we must focus on supporting those whose COVID-19 symptoms do not go away after the acute phase of the infection."

Earlier today, the New York State Department of Health hosted a virtual expert panel on long COVID.

  • VIDEO of the event is available here.
  • RUSH TRANSCRIPT of State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett's introductory remarks is available here.

The event was hosted by State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett and consisted of three panels featuring the research, clinical, and functional aspects of this critical public health challenge. Long COVID, a condition in which individuals infected with COVID-19 experience a wide range of physical and psychological symptoms after their initial infection, is impacting a portion of the population across New York State as well as our nation and worldwide.

Given the challenges and urgent need to support New Yorkers in their recovery from long COVID, New York State brought together an expert group of researchers, clinicians, social scientists, and other stakeholders to share their expertise and insights on the condition.

Following an introduction from State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett, the first panel featured a premier research group who discussed the epidemiological aspects of the condition, potential biological causes, the groups most severely affected, and current research efforts. A second panel featured clinical care specialists for a forum around the various clinical manifestations and presentations of long COVID, risk factors, and treatment guidelines in various populations across age, race/ethnicity, and geography. The event concluded with an integrated panel on policy and functional outcomes to inform the State's development of a comprehensive long COVID response.

The event's panelists and moderators are below:

Research Panel:

  • Jennifer Frontera, MD - Professor of Neurology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine
  • Mady Hornig, MA, MD - Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
  • Lawrence Purpura, MD, MPH & TM - Instructor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Columbia University Irving Medical Center
  • Akiko Iwasaki, PhD - Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Immunobiology and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Yale University
  • Michael Roehrl, MD, PhD - Director, Precision Pathology Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
  • Moderated by: Eli Rosenberg, PhD – Deputy Director for Science, Office of Public Health, New York State Department of Health

Clinical Panel:

  • Benjamin Abramoff, MD, MS - Director, Spinal Cord Injury Program; Assistant Professor of Clinical Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Penn Medicine
  • Abigail Chua, MD, MPH - Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Clinical Care and Sleep Medicine, Stony Brook University Hospital
  • John Baratta, MD, MBA - Clinical Assistant Professor & Medical Director of Stroke Rehabilitation, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
  • Ixsy Ramirez, MD, MPH - Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Michigan Medical School
  • Sharagim Kemp, DO - Medical Director, Nuvance Health COVID Recovery Program
  • Zijian Chen, MD - Medical Director, Center for Post-COVID Care, Mount Sinai
  • Sarah J. Ryan, MD - Assistant Professor of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center
  • Moderated by: Emily Lutterloh, MD, MPH – Director, Division of Epidemiology, New York State Department of Health

Policy/Functional Panel:

  • Diana Berrent - Founder, Survivor Corps
  • David Putrino, PT, PhD - Director of Rehabilitation Innovation, Mount Sinai
  • Karen Costley-Hoke, MD, MPH - Medical Director and Assistant Vice President, Healthfirst
  • Monica Lypson, MD, MHPE - Vice Dean for Education, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
  • Jasmine Harris, JD - Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law
  • Vincent Marchello, MD - Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President, Fidelis Care
  • Sanjiv Shah, MD - Chief Medical Officer, MetroPlus Health
  • Moderated by: Johanne Morne, MS – Deputy Director for Community Health, Office of Public Health; Director, AIDS Institute and Center for Community Health, New York State Department of Health

Panelist biographies are available here.

New Yorkers can learn more at ny.gov/LongCovidPanel.