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Sen. Tim Kaine got covid-19 in the spring of 2020, and nearly two years later he still has mild symptoms. “I tell people it feels like all my nerves have had like five cups of coffee,” Kaine said Wednesday of his “24/7” tingling sensation, just after introducing legislation intended to expand understanding of long covid. (Flynn, 3/2)

Millions of Americans suffering from fatigue, nervous system disorders and other long-term health effects of COVID aren't getting public assistance to offset rising medical costs and lost income, an NBC News investigation found. Taxpayer-funded unemployment insurance and long-term disability insurance aren't options for most Americans with long COVID, who may be too sick to work but not ready to quit the workforce. (Bettelheim, 3/2)

A retrospective study of 17 COVID-19 survivors with lingering symptoms reveals that 10 (59%) had nerve damage, which the researchers said could have been triggered by potentially treatable infection-related immune dysfunction. In the study, published yesterday in Neurology: Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers analyzed data from long COVID patients with no history of neuropathy or risks of neuropathy who were referred for evaluation of peripheral neuropathy, meaning nerve damage not involving the brain or spinal cord. (3/2)

Merck & Co.’s Covid-19 antiviral pill was endorsed by a World Health Organization panel for patients in the early stages of disease who face high risk of hospitalization. The WHO panel of international experts, which looked at data from six randomized clinical trials involving more than 4,000 patients, found a moderate certainty that Merck’s molnupiravir reduces the risk of hospital admission and recovery time. The effect on mortality wasn’t so clear. The decision was published Thursday in the BMJ medical journal. (Fourcade, 3/2)

The U.S. government distributes Paxlovid, the first pill authorized to treat the coronavirus. White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said Wednesday that the government will have 1 million treatment courses available this month. He expects that to more than double in April. Pfizer Chief Global Supply Officer Mike McDermott says there is “an ample amount” of Paxlovid available for high-risk patients who need it. (Murphy, 3/2)

She was just 17, had her driver’s license and was loving her first job at Selma’s Pizza in Ladera Ranch. Kennedy Stonum, a junior at San Juan Hills High School, was in perfect health and spurned COVID-19 vaccines on the theory that, if she was ever infected, it would be a mild case. It was not. Stonum fell ill in January. Her infection erupted into a series of rare complications. On Feb. 11, she died. “Like most teenagers, she felt indestructible,” Kennedy Stonum’s father, attorney Lee Stonum, told CBSLA. “What happened to Kennedy was exceedingly unlikely and very, very rare. And none of that matters to me now.” (Sforza, 3/2)

KHN: To Be One In A Million: ‘Who Thinks It’s Going To Be You?’ 

Monica Melkonian wanted the Johnson & Johnson covid vaccine. It was only one shot and then she would be protected against the virus. So she was thrilled when the vaccination clinic at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center on April 7 had her first choice. But on April 13, Melkonian started experiencing headaches, a sharp pain behind her left eye. That same day federal health officials announced a pause in the use of the J&J vaccine after learning that six people had developed a rare blood-clotting disorder following their shots. (Hawryluk, 3/3)