On September 18, 2025, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) convened two roundtables on Long COVID under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Dr. Estiri was among the participants. One roundtable centered on patient experiences and the other on research. Together they brought patients, caregivers, clinicians, researchers, and advocates to the table to recommend practical steps for improving care, and Senators Roger Marshall of Kansas and Todd Young of Indiana joined the discussions.

Actions HHS announced alongside the Long COVID roundtables

HHS announced three actions alongside the roundtables, beginning with a national public awareness and education campaign for patients, families, and employers. HHS also described an open-source online platform where physicians, researchers, and health systems can share clinical practices for diagnosing and treating Long COVID. On the same day, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality released a report on sources of health insurance among adults with Long COVID.

Our research speaks directly to these priorities: the P2RC algorithm identifies patients whose records describe Long COVID without carrying the diagnostic code, and our 58-hospital study in 2026 showed that code-based surveillance captures fewer than half of cases.

HHS press release