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This is Science Friday. I'm Ira Flato.

Today on the podcast, could an antiviral treatment for COVID-19 also help people who've lived with long COVID for years.

People living with long COVID are eager for treatments that can help with their symptoms, right?

As you mentioned, we're about five years into this pandemic and there are still not yet any FDA-approved treatments.

Can you believe it's been five years since the first laboratory confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S.?

Of course, that pandemic has changed all of our lives, but for the lucky ones, only in small ways.

For others, COVID-19 turned them into COVID-long- haulers. This is a chronic condition that lingers

long after a COVID infection and can reduce one's ability to live their day-to-day life.

It's been estimated that about 400 million people worldwide, yes, have had long COVID, and some researchers say that number

should be much higher. There's a lack of research on successful treatments for long COVID.

So some scientists living with the condition have taken things into their own hands,

running experiments on themselves, and joining me to talk about a recent investigation using Pax Lovit.

Are my guests, Dr. Allison Cohen, assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California in San Francisco,

and Dr. Julia Moore Vogel, senior program director at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California.

Welcome both of you to Science Friday.

Thank you so much.

Thanks for having us.

You're welcome.

Before we just jump in, I want us to get to know you two a little better.

So tell us a little bit about your research background and your experience, please, with

long COVID.

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