Navy Medicine COVID-19 Findings Published in Lancet; Featured on Podcast

SILVER SPRING, Md. – Long-term SARS-CoV-2 findings from Naval Medical Research Command’s (NMRC) COVID-19 Health Action for Marines (CHARM) 2.0 study were published in the Lancet Regional Health – Americas on October 24th.

The CHARM 2.0 study was designed to follow Marines who were originally enrolled in a prospective cohort study during the height of the pandemic to characterize the risk and presentation of long-term health outcomes following COVID-19.

The study found that a quarter of those Marines who were either asymptomatic or had mild acute COVID-19 reported long-term effects of infection. Those affected with Post Acute Symptoms of COVID (PASC), showed evidence of long-term decrease in functional performance suggesting that SARS-CoV-2 infection may negatively affect the health for a significant proportion of young adults.

CHARM 2.0 is a collaborative effort between NMRC, fellow Navy Medicine Research units, such as Naval Medical Research Units (NAMRU) INDO PACIFIC and SOUTH and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

“This study highlights the need to continue studying how COVID-19 may affect our military personnel long term," said Dr. Chad Porter, the principal investigator on the study.

The Lancet article featuring the CHARM 2.0 findings was also featured on the infectious disease- focused podcast, “This Week in Virology”, episode 1162. The weekly podcast series host, Dr. Daniel Griffin, an infectious disease specialist from Columbia University, Irving Medical Center, discussed updates in clinical virology which included a brief review and discussion about CHARM 2.0.

“Being highlighted on the podcast demonstrates how military medical research is of interest and value to civilian public health," said Capt. Andrew Letizia, science director for NAMRU INDO PACIFIC. “It is fulfilling to hear how our work can inform civilian providers such as those who listen to the podcast on the effects of long COVID."

The podcast reported how the CHARM 2.0 study demonstrated the lingering effects of COVID-19 on our Marines by describing physical and mental symptoms as well as decreased physical fitness test performance even after very mild initial infection. During the discussion, the podcast mentioned that because of their PASC, a quarter of these Marines are not able to keep up with the healthier Marines if they get into a bad situation, and as Griffin stated, “That’s not okay!”

“Publication of the CHARM 2.0 study in the Lancet Regional Health – The Americas and the results being summarized on the podcast ‘This Week in Virology’ highlights the important contributions of the Naval Medical Research Command to the scientific community,” added Porter. “These results in particular demonstrate the value of rapidly establishing a well-defined cohort of Marines at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic enabling long-term follow-up for potential chronic adverse health outcomes.”

NMRC is engaged in a broad spectrum of activities, from basic science in the laboratory to field studies in austere and remote areas of the world to investigations in operational environments. In support of the Navy, Marine Corps and joint U.S. warfighters, researchers study infectious diseases, biological warfare detection and defense, combat casualty care, environmental health concerns, aerospace and undersea medicine, medical modeling, simulation, operational mission support, epidemiology and behavioral sciences.