Many infections, including SARS-CoV-2, cause an acute illness that eventually resolves, with or without injury to host tissues.  However, in some people, the acute infection triggers a chronic disease that is systemic, persistent (months to years) and, for some, profoundly disabling.  Moreover, the proportion of those who have recovered from acute infection but then begin to develop chronic symptoms (aka, Long COVID), or some other major complication such heart disease, stroke, or diabetes mellitus (collectively referred to as the Post-acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2, or PASC) is about 50% of this population, depending on how PASC is defined.  

Therefore, this Keystone Symposia conference aims to understand the progression from acute illness to chronic disease as well as address long COVID and PASC, for the first time, with mechanism-based therapeutic strategies.  The conference is designed to be multidisciplinary in nature and will have representation from distinct scientific, technological, and clinical perspectives with geographical, academic, and commercial sector diversity.   It is anticipated that this broad set of perspectives will help to foster interactions leading to synergistic solutions to an unprecedented health care problem. 

Organizer, and Professor of Medicine in Residence at the University of California, San Francisco, Steven G. Deeks, talks about why you should attend this meeting in the video below: