For post-infectious diseases that have affected 1.5 million people in Germany since the coronavirus pandemic, the Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space Travel (BMFTR) will award 500 million euros in funding over the next ten years. Thus begins the “National Decade Against Post-Infectious Diseases,” which is comparable to the great cancer research decade, said Research Minister Dorothee Bär at the kickoff event this Wednesday in Berlin.
The money will flow into a new data base with genome sequencing, more project funding, clinical studies as well as the promotion of young researchers. “Only when we understand the mechanisms will the pharmaceutical industry participate more strongly in the development of effective medicines,” the minister explained.
At the same time, together with the Federal Ministry of Health, the joint “Alliance for Post-Infectious Diseases: Long Covid and ME/CFS” was launched. The ministry under Minister Nina Warken will invest around 119 million euros in new projects for patient care through 2028.
Long Covid encompasses a variety of physical, cognitive and psychological symptoms, including severe fatigue and reduced performance over a long period. There is not yet a drug for these long-term consequences of COVID. The project also targets people with the “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome” (ME/CFS), which is also part of the spectrum of post-COVID illnesses.
The funding became possible thanks to the final deliberations of the Budget Committee on the 2026 federal budget last week. In the so-called “clearing session,” typically planned but no longer needed funds are released, which can be reallocated at short notice.
This now benefits medical research. “For the study and treatment of ME/CFS and Long Covid we urgently need to boost the budget,” had previously urged the former Health Minister Karl Lauterbach. “We must not leave the victims of the gravest diseases behind.”
Also in the inquiry committee on the handling of the corona pandemic, scientists and patient representatives had demanded more research. “Effective medicines are completely missing,” said Carmen Scheibenbogen, the Charité expert on post-infectious diseases. These conditions are still hardly taught in medical studies and training, and there is no medical professional society specifically for them.
With high-profile actions, such as a “Die-In” in front of the Federal Ministry of Research in October, affected individuals and their relatives exerted additional pressure on policymakers.
