Scripps Research announced a new clinical trial Thursday that will assess the effectiveness of using drugs approved for diabetes treatment and weight loss to treat long COVID, the debilitating chronic condition diagnosed in an estimated 20 million Americans and about 400 million people worldwide.

Developed to help people with type 2 diabetes control their blood sugar levels, these GLP-1 medications have generated billions of dollars in revenue for their ability to slow the pace of digestion and reduce appetite, helping millions worldwide lose weight.

But, as always happens with big pharma blockbusters, the research community is busy exploring other possible applications for this class of compounds, with clinical trials underway or forming in cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease and obstructive sleep apnea.

And growing evidence of its anti-inflammation properties, notes Scripps computational biologist and study co-principal investigator Julia Vogel, has driven increasing interest in using GLP-1 drugs to treat at least some of long COVID’s myriad symptoms, which range from brain fog and difficulty breathing to fatigue and joint pain.

The trial, which seeks to enroll 1,000 long COVID patients nationwide, will explore how self-administration of tirzepatide, Eli Lilly’s GLP-1 agonist marketed as Mounjaro for diabetes treatment and Zepbound for weight loss, affects symptoms over a 12-month period.

“GLP-1 drugs have been found to do so many different things,” Vogel said. “They’ve helped with all kinds of immune conditions, in part by reducing inflammation, and we know that is an issue in long COVID.”

Desperate for therapies that work, the long COVID community has already begun experimenting with “microdosing” GLP-1 drugs, with a post made one year ago on the social news site Reddit entitled “Ozempic for Long Covid?” reporting anecdotal evidence of the drug helping some improve their symptoms. And the formal scientific community has taken note, with a formal discussion of GLP-1’s possibilities for long COVID occurring during a panel discussion at a scientific meeting on Sept. 12 and still available on YouTube.

“We’ve heard anecdotal reports of people who literally, on their first shot, just feel like their symptoms are just clearing like they didn’t even realize that they had so much anxiety until it was just gone,” Vogel said.

Given that there is currently no drug to treat long COVID despite more than $1 billion in spending on research by the federal government, the possibility that GLP-1 drugs are beneficial in this domain is extremely appealing. However, anecdotal evidence will never convince health insurance companies to cover such prescriptions, nor doctors to broadly write prescriptions without proof of efficacy. Those are the goals of the new Scripps Research study.

Dr. Eric Topol, the study’s co-principal investigator and a well-known Scripps vice president, noted that no trials to date, and there have been very few so far, have met the level of rigor that will be employed for the Long COVID Treatment Trial.

“There has still not been a large, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of a candidate drug,” Topol said. “That is what we have started this week with tirzepatide.”

Trial protocols call for half of the 1,000 participants to receive a placebo, inert doses that have no effect, rather than the active drug, creating a control group that is critical to obtaining scientifically valid results.

Scripps Research, he noted, has written many papers on long COVID since the pandemic. A paper that a team of researchers published in January 2023 titled “Long COVID: major findings, mechanisms and recommendations” that details how this lingering illness affects many different systems of the body has been particularly well received, with nearly 2 million views.

Vogel herself suffers long COVID fatigue so severe that the former distance runner was forced to begin using a wheelchair and leave San Diego, rejoining her extended family on the East Coast. It was seeing one of their own so severely affected by the condition, Topol said, that spurred a strong dedication to long COVID research.

“Julia was hit in early 2020, and her suffering and course led to our work to learn about the condition and seek a treatment,” Topol said in an email Thursday.

GLP-1 drugs, including Ozempic and Wegovy from Novo Nordisk, are designed to be self-administered, with patients giving themselves shots once per week. This fact allowed the Scripps team to create a “digital” trial that mails supplies to participants rather than requiring them to travel to clinical sites as many trials do.

Participants, who must have medical documentation of long COVID, will receive four doses of tirzepatide in the mail, starting with lower concentrations of the active ingredient and increasing over six months to find each participant’s “optimal dose,” Vogel said.

“We ask them to report their weight and any side effects every week and then each month, before their next shipment, there’s a discussion with one of the study physicians about, ‘okay, are you still having any side effects?’” Vogel said. “If they’re still having any side effects, (the dose) does not go up.

“If they’re feeling better and they’re interested in going up, then they can, or they can just choose to stay where they are.”

Participants must regularly record their fatigue level using a special smartphone application so that researchers can understand how the drug affects this key measurement.

“We’re also going to be sending everyone a wearable (electronic monitor) so they will have this passive monitoring of their daily step count, their heart rate, heart rate variability, sleep, etc.,” Vogel said.

Fifty participants will be asked to go one step further, using a special device that can collect blood samples from the upper arm with the press of a button. These collections will allow deeper analysis of biomarkers and other factors that can be correlated with self-reported fatigue assessments and wearable data to provide a fuller picture of the biological effects of the drug.

In addition to a long COVID diagnosis, participants must be at least 18 years of age with internet access, a “fatigue severity scale score” of at least 36 and be willing to follow study protocols. Pregnant women are excluded due to the unknown potential risks of the drug to unborn babies. Those already taking tirzepatide, or any other GLP-1 drug, are also excluded, according to protocols posted on clinicaltrials.gov, as are those with certain medical conditions or medical histories that researchers have determined could confound results. Participants must also not be in the “underweight” category with a body mass index less than 18.5.

As co-principal investigator, Vogel is also barred from participating.

Is this bittersweet, given all that she has been through since she first started experiencing life-altering symptoms?

“I would not meet the eligibility criteria because I’m underweight, so I don’t mind at all,” Vogel said in an email Thursday. “My main feeling today is excitement about the potential to help people who are coping with the same illness that I am.

“Even if the drug does not decrease the symptom burden as we hope, we will learn a lot about its effects on people with Long COVID, and if it does help, I’ll be beyond thrilled.”

Lilly contributed the doses to the trial, which is funded by the Schmidt Initiative for Long Covid, a nonprofit organization created in 2023 by philanthropists Eric and Wendy Schmidt.

More information on the trial is available at longcovid.scripps.edu.

By DAMIAN J. TROISE, Associated Press Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are holding relatively steady in morning trading on Wall Street Wednesday as more U.S. companies turn in their latest quarterly reports.

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The S&P 500 rose 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 65 points, or 0.1%, as of 9:48 a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.3%.

Companies from a broad spectrum of industries reported their latest financial results and gave updated forecasts.

Taser maker Axon Enterprise slumped 17.3% after forecasting weaker profits than analysts were expecting. Live Nation Entertainment fell 6.4% after its latest results fell short of analysts’ forecasts.

On the winning side, McDonald’s rose 3.1% after reporting that its sales benefited from the return of its popular Snack Wraps in the third quarter.

The latest round of earnings offers Wall Street a source of information on consumers, businesses and the economy that is otherwise lacking amid the government shutdown. Important monthly updates on inflation and employment have ceased, leaving investors, economists and the Federal Reserve without a fuller picture of the economy.

There are still several informative private economic updates that Wall Street can review.

A monthly report from ADP showed that private payrolls rose more than expected in October. The report offers a partial glimpse into the job market, which has been generally weakening and raising broader concerns about economic growth.

Treasury yields edged higher in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.12% from 4.09% late Tuesday.

European markets were mostly lower and Asian markets closed mostly lower.

When you work in an industry like personal finance, it can be embarrassing to admit that you went against the best practices that you preach. But I’ll keep it real and confess that I stuck with a mediocre bank for years without seeking out something better. I was a customer at what I’ll refer to as Big Bank. (Yes, you’ve heard of its real name.)

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My relationship with Big Bank began, as many mistakes do, in college. Big Bank had a branch on campus and I knew it had a large ATM network, but that was the extent of my research before I opened a checking and savings account.

I stuck with Big Bank for the next decade. I even added a couple of credit cards and an auto loan from Big Bank. It felt like a choice that would streamline my finances, with a variety of accounts available to me behind the same user login.

Over time, however, I became increasingly aware of the many ways that Big Bank was deficient. Better savings account interest rates were available elsewhere, as were credit cards with better cash back and rewards programs. But the inertia (and, to be honest, laziness) of not wanting to make the switch kept me at Big Bank for way longer than I should have been.

Making the switch

After I started working on the banking team at NerdWallet, I couldn’t feign ignorance or justify my inaction anymore. Based on the research I was doing every day, it was clear I was getting a raw deal, especially when it came to my savings. I slowly started to release the grip that Big Bank had on my finances by opening a new high-yield savings account at a different bank, and I re-routed a percentage of my paychecks into that account.

I immediately started earning literally hundreds of times more than the measly 0.01% annual percentage yield that I was getting at Big Bank. The interest rate at my new bank has fluctuated over the years since, from the lows of the pandemic to recent peaks, but even so, it’s stayed well above the abysmal rate I was getting before.

As I began exploring my options elsewhere and started opening other accounts, I still found it hard to give up on Big Bank for my checking. I had set up a legion of automatic payments for subscriptions and bills through that account, and the idea of transitioning everything over felt like a bridge too far, so I put it off.

But one day, in a surge of self-determination, I did what had been so hard for so many years: I spent five minutes opening a checking account at the same bank where I had my high-yield savings, and then I spent another five minutes switching over my direct deposit information.

Of course, it took a while to finally transfer all of my automatic payments and subscriptions to my new account, and it wasn’t the most convenient process. Leslie Beck, owner and principal at Compass Wealth Management, says this is by design.

“Banks try to make their services ‘sticky’ and make it as difficult as possible for you to leave them,” Beck says. She says she encourages her clients to gradually move recurring payments to the new account instead of rushing to do it all at once.

“It might make things a little more complicated for a period of time,” Beck says, “but it makes the process of moving things over more palatable.”

Choose your own banking adventure

If you’re considering making the jump from a suboptimal bank to a new and better one, keep in mind that you don’t necessarily have to make the switch all at once, or even completely switch at all. As long as you’re meeting the activity requirements and avoiding fees, it’s more than fine to keep accounts open at multiple banks.

Bill Shafransky, a senior wealth advisor with Moneco Advisors, recommends his clients take a “micro and macro” approach to their banking. He says that local, “micro” community banks tend to have more concierge-like customer service where the employees know you by name, and you might get better financing options for things like auto loans. Larger national “macro” banks, on the other hand, might have a better suite of products and services — especially for international travel — but might not have the personal touch of a smaller bank.

According to Shafransky, having both a micro and macro bank account can give customers a wide range of products, good customer service, and strong interest rates.

“It comes down to having options,” Shafransky says. “A lot of people don’t want a big institution or a small institution for different reasons, but having accounts at each can give you more freedom. It all comes down to what you’re looking for.”

Comparison shopping and mixing-and-matching your bank accounts can help you get the best of all worlds. Don’t settle for less than what you can get, especially in terms of interest rates and the services that you want from your bank.

Chanelle Bessette writes for NerdWallet. Email: cbessette@nerdwallet.com.

The article Why I Stayed with the Same Mediocre Big Bank for 10-Plus Years originally appeared on NerdWallet.

By LINLEY SANDERS, JOSH BOAK, and AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump wasn’t on the ballot in Tuesday’s elections, but many voters in key races made their choice in opposition to him or considered him to be irrelevant, according to the AP Voter Poll.

It was hardly an endorsement of his nearly 10 months back in the White House.

That theme played out in the governor races in New Jersey and Virginia, the mayoral contest in New York City and a state proposition to redraw congressional districts in California.

The AP Voter Poll, which surveyed more than 17,000 voters in those places, found that most voters disapproved of Trump’s performance as president, and many thought his aggressive approach to immigration had “gone too far.” Republicans and those who lean toward the Republican Party were more likely to say Trump wasn’t a factor for their vote, even though most approve of his job performance.

Few cast a vote to support Trump, while more wanted to oppose him

Most presidents fare poorly in the off-cycle elections that come a year after their White House wins, and Trump fit solidly into that pattern as Democrats boasted victories in Tuesday’s key races.

In both Virginia and New Jersey, slightly fewer than half of voters said Trump was “not a factor” in their respective votes for governor. Beside some social media posts and tele-rallies Monday night, Trump did little to help Republican candidates in those states.

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About 6 in 10 voters in New York City’s mayoral race said Trump did not play a role in their decision. That’s despite his threat to withdraw federal funding if Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani won, and his social media endorsement of Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor. New York City voters picked Mamdani to be their next mayor, setting up a possible showdown with the Trump administration.

For those who did identify Trump as a factor, it was to his disadvantage.

Roughly 4 in 10 voters in New Jersey and Virginia said they were casting ballots to oppose Trump. Fewer said they were voting to show their support for the Republican president.

Trump weighed more heavily in the minds of California voters, who were voting on a proposition to determine whether to redistrict the state’s congressional seats in favor of Democrats. The whole effort is designed to rebut Trump’s efforts to redraw congressional districts in Republican states with the specific goal of preserving the GOP House majority in next year’s midterm races.

Only about 4 in 10 California voters said Trump did not factor into their decision. But about half said they were voting to object to Trump. Roughly 1 in 10 California voters said they were voting with support for him.

Voters largely disapproved of Trump, and many cast ballots accordingly

Many voters disapprove of how Trump has performed since returning to the White House in January. That could be a problem for Republican candidates, as Trump has made loyalty to him a must for GOP candidates.

Only about 4 in 10 voters across Virginia and New Jersey approve of how the president is handling his job. Approval was even lower in the Democratic strongholds of California and New York City, where close to two-thirds of voters disapprove of his leadership so far.

Not surprisingly, the voters who were likeliest to disapprove of him were more likely to say they were signaling their dislike of him when casting a ballot. Meanwhile, voters who like Trump’s job performance were more likely to say the president wasn’t a factor in their choice.

Most Republican voters in Virginia and New Jersey approved of Trump’s performance as president, but that didn’t mean they saw him as a major motivator. About 6 in 10 Republicans in both states said Trump wasn’t a factor in their vote.

Many voters were unhappy with Trump’s immigration approach

In 2024, Trump capitalized on voters’ concerns about border crossings by immigrants without legal status.

This year, immigration fell far behind economic issues for voters when they were asked to think about what’s the most important issue facing their state or city. It wasn’t a top concern for voters in any of the four states where the AP Voter Poll was conducted. The survey also found that many voters were unhappy with Trump’s aggressive approach on deportations and arrests of immigrants believed to be in the country illegally.

Voters in California, New Jersey, New York City and Virginia were more likely to say that the Trump administration’s actions on immigration enforcement had “gone too far” than “been about right” or “not gone far enough.”

But voters in Virginia and New Jersey were about evenly split on whether their next governor should cooperate with the Trump administration on immigration enforcement.

Voters in New York City and California were more definitively opposed. About 6 in 10 voters in each place said their leaders should not be cooperating with the White House on immigration enforcement.

The 2025 AP Voter Poll, conducted by SSRS from Oct. 22 – Nov. 4, includes representative samples of registered voters in California (4,490), New Jersey (4,244), New York City (4,304) and Virginia (4,215). The AP Voter Poll combines data collected from validated registered voters online and by telephone, with data collected in-person from election day voters at approximately 30 precincts per state or city, excluding California. Respondents can complete the poll in English or Spanish. The overall margin of sampling error for voters, accounting for design effect, is plus or minus 2.0 percentage points in California, 2.1 percentage points in New Jersey, 2.2 percentage points in New York City, and 2.1 percentage points in Virginia.