Dear Editor,

As an attorney for the healthcare industry, I have seen the toll that COVID-19 is taking on our economy and our families. We have all had to drastically change our daily routines and we worry about our health and the health of our loved ones. The financial impact has also been profound and many of my family members and neighbors are facing dire situations.

While this pandemic is new to me, watching a disease impact families and finances is not. While running her own consulting firm as a small business owner, my mother was the sole caregiver for my grandmother for ten years as she battled the costly disease. Unfortunately, more than 5 million Americans, including 230,000 in Illinois, are currently living with Alzheimer’s — a number expected to nearly triple by 2050. And in 2020, Alzheimer’s and other dementias will cost the nation $305 billion.

We have researchers working diligently to develop a vaccine for COVID-19, but we cannot take our eye off the ball when it comes to Alzheimer’s research either. We have made incredible strides in the last few years, but don’t yet have a treatment or cure. For this reason, I am asking Senator Dick Durbin to support increased funding for Alzheimer’s and dementia research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by $354 million and support $20 million to implement the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act. This funding will provide researchers with the resources they need to make those vital discoveries.

If you care as much as I do, please join me in encouraging Senator Durbin to again lead in the fight to end Alzheimer’s by supporting this critical funding.

Thank you for your consideration,

Marcus Morrow

Chicago, IL