Health and Hospital Committee special hearing on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS)

 

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors Health and Hospital Committee held a special hearing on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and its links to long COVID on Thursday, August 29 at 2 p.m.. ME/CFS is a long-term condition that prevents people from being able to do doing their usual activities. It causes severe fatigue not improved by rest, problems thinking and sleeping, dizziness, pain, and many other symptoms. There’s currently no cure. The hearing included two expert panels discussing what ME/CFS is, how to recognize and treat the condition, links to long COVID, and treatment options currently available at the County Health System. 

The special hearing was held in the Board of Supervisors Chambers at County Government Center (70 West Hedding St.) in San Jose. A recording of the public meeting is now available. 

County Supervisor Joe Simitian, chair of the Health and Hospital Committee, and County Supervisor Otto Lee, vice chair of the Health and Hospital Committee, moderated the meeting. Participating panelists included:

• Bela Chheda, MD, physician at Center for Complex Diseases
• John Chia, MD, Founder of EVMED Research
• Melanie Hoppers, MD, physician at Bateman Horne Center
• Supriya Narasimhan, MD, Chief of Infectious Diseases Division, Medical Director of Infection Prevention, and Hospital Epidemiologist at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center
• Angela Suarez, MD, Medical Director of Primary Care at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center

Resource list for ME/CFS syndrome