Here are some of HealthDay’s top stories for Thursday, Sept. 16:

NIH spending nearly $470 million on long-haul COVID study. “Some people have had their lives completely upended by the major long-term effects of COVID-19,” said Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health. A major research initiative involving 30 institutions is being launched to better understand long-haul symptoms. Read more

Why are more American babies being born with syphilis? According to new CDC data, the number of infants born with congenital syphilis has now reached levels not seen for 25 years. Rising rates of drug abuse and a lack of access to prenatal care may be partly to blame, researchers say. Read more

Hospitalizing the unvaccinated cost U.S. more than $5.7 billion. At roughly $20,000 per case, and with more than 287,000 such cases occurring between June and August, the financial burden of hospital care for Americans who haven’t gotten vaccinated is soaring. It’s all so unnecessary, experts say. Read more