New data suggests that people with Covid-19 can continue to suffer from symptoms for up to nine months after the initial infection, White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday.

Researchers at the University of Washington recently found that 30% of patients reported symptoms for as long as nine months, Fauci told reporters during a White House news briefing on Covid-19. People reported fatigue, shortness of breath, sleep disorders and other symptoms that lasted for months, he said.

Symptoms of “long Covid,” which researchers are now calling Post-Acute Sequelae of Covid-19, or PASC, can develop “well after” infection, and severity can range from mild to “incapacitating,” said Fauci, also the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

“The magnitude of the problem is not fully known,” he said, adding PASC was also reported in people who did not require hospitalization and people who had symptoms that were not part of their initial infection.

The update comes as global medical experts are working to better diagnose and treat people with persistent Covid-19 symptoms.

So far, there has been a limited number of studies that discern what the most common long-Covid symptoms are or how long they might last. Most of the focus has been on people with a severe or fatal illness, not those who have recovered but still report lingering side effects, sometimes referred to as “long haulers.”

The National Institutes of Health has launched an initiative to study long Covid and to identify the causes and potential treatments for individuals, Fauci said. “What makes some people vulnerable while others recover quickly and have no sequelae?” he asked.

– CNBC’s Noah Higgins-Dunn contributed to this report.

The first shipment of Covid-19 vaccines delivered through the World Health Organization’s COVAX program arrived in Ghana on Wednesday, a hopeful turning point for developing countries that risked being left behind in the global race for vaccinations against a virus that has killed nearly 2.5 million people worldwide.  

The flight brought 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, one considered far easier to distribute to developing nations since it doesn’t require extremely cold storage temperatures like the Pfizer–GenTech and Moderna vaccines.  

The vaccines delivered Wednesday will be prioritized for front-line medical workers, people over 60, and those with preexisting health conditions, according to Ghana’s Information Ministry.  

“Today marks the historic moment for which we have been planning and working so hard,” UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said in a joint statement by her agency and the WHO Ghana. 

“With the first shipment of doses, we can make good on the promise of the COVAX Facility to ensure people from less wealthy countries are not left behind in the race for life-saving vaccines.” 

COVAX is a global plan co-led by the WHO, an international vaccine alliance called Gavi, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.  

As wealthier nations push ahead with costly vaccine development and procurement, poorer countries are being left behind. Mark Suzman, chief executive of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said in December that it may already be too late for equitable distribution of the vaccines because of the massive deals already brokered by rich nations.

Wealthy nations, which constitute 14% of the world’s population, had secured 53% of the world’s supply of the best-performing coronavirus vaccines by December, according to a group of human rights campaigners called the People’s Vaccine Alliance. 

COVAX was established to pursue equitable vaccine access globally, aiming to vaccinate 20% of people in the world’s 92 poorest countries by the end of 2021 through donations. Several other middle-income countries are set to acquire vaccines through COVAX on a self-funded basis. The plan aims to deliver 2 billion doses this year that have been approved as safe and effective by the WHO.  

The shots themselves were produced by India’s Serum Institute, which is expected to supply 400 million Covid vaccine doses to Africa. The continent aims to have 60% of its 1.3 billion-person population inoculated in the next two to three years, the African Union said in December.

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden’s nominee to run the CIA told lawmakers Wednesday that if confirmed he would intensify America’s national security approach to counter China.

“Out-competing China will be key to our national security in the days ahead,” Will Burns said in his opening remarks to the Senate Intelligence Committee. “That will require a long-term, clear-eyed, bipartisan strategy, underpinned by domestic renewal and solid intelligence,” the former career diplomat added.

Burns, 64, who worked under both Republican and Democratic presidents, described Xi Jinping’s China as “a formidable, authoritarian adversary.”

He added that China was “methodically strengthening its capabilities to steal intellectual property, repress its own people, bully its neighbors, expand its global reach, and build influence in American society.”

Burns, who was introduced to the Senate committee by former Secretary of State James Baker and former CIA director and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, previously served as the U.S. ambassador to Jordan and Russia.

His confirmation is expected to easily pass with strong bipartisan support similar to the majority of Biden’s national security team.

Earlier this month, the Senate confirmed Alejandro Mayorkas to lead the nation’s Department of Homeland Security, making him the first Latino to hold the role. The Senate voted 56 to 43.

Last month, the Senate confirmed Avril Haines as the director of national intelligence with an 84 to 10 vote, making her the first official member of Biden’s Cabinet. Haines is also the first woman to lead the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies.

The Senate voted 93 to 2 to confirm Lloyd Austin as the next Pentagon chief, making him the nation’s first Black Defense secretary. The Senate confirmed Biden’s top diplomat Antony Blinken in a 78 to 22 vote, making him the nation’s next secretary of State.