Among the many mysteries of COVID-19, a major one regards "long COVID" symptoms that persist for weeks and sometimes months after someone first tests positive for the disease.

Experts and scientists have begun using data repositories to try to answer some of the questions surrounding long COVID. Joining Healthcare IT News Senior Editor Kat Jercich to discuss how health IT can advance this kind of research are Michael Simon, director of data science at Arcadia, and Dr. Brett Giroir, former assistant secretary for health and a member of the COVID Patient Recovery Alliance.

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Talking points:  

• How COVID-19 changed the potential for data analysis
• A recent study suggesting the effects of vaccines on long COVID
• The policy implications of the findings
• Virtually everyone is at risk for long COVID
• Some necessary caveats about the findings 
• What follow-up research should investigate
• The Patient Recovery Alliance's history and mission
• Hopes for the near future for data and policy

More about this episode:

UC Health creates unified data set to aid COVID-19 researchers

Research Data Alliance finalizes COVID-19 data sharing guidelines

NIH All of Us program makes more COVID-19 data available

UK announces five new COVID-19 vaccine research projects

Meet the informaticist trying to solve the mystery of long COVID