The funding comes as an initial response to a series of recommendations handed down in a parliamentary inquiry into long COVID and repeated COVID infections.

A Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport held four public hearings and received almost 600 submissions into the inquiry.

The committee recommended the federal government establish a national long COVID and COVID-19 database to be administered by the soon-to-be developed Centre for Disease Control.

The database would gather information relating to infections, complications, hospitalisations, deaths, recurrent COVID infections and infections in high-risk populations.

Other recommendations included developing guidelines for people living with long COVID, better access to antiviral treatments, better vaccination communication, improving indoor air quality and supporting primary healthcare providers.

The committee also recommended holding a pandemic summit looking at Australia's response, and developing plans to manage future pandemics.

Committee chair and Labor MP Mike Freelander MP told the Canberra Times people with long COVID were faced with a lack of information about their treatment options, and often suffered from elevated levels of anxiety.

Dr Freelander said health workers were in a "difficult situation" trying to support patients with this "new and poorly understood condition".

"There's no question that it is a real disorder and yet people are fighting to get a diagnosis and GPs feel a bit powerless. They don't feel that they've been given the tools to be able to diagnose and support people," Dr Freelander said.

"And if you're then faced with someone who either doesn't believe them, was not able to offer them support, it makes it even worse.

"You just got to feel sorry for these people. I mean, on every level, they've had difficulties getting a diagnosis. Some people have been very dismissive, very skeptical about this."

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The inquiry focused on long COVID, which is generally understood as ongoing symptoms for three months or longer following an acute infection, however there is no nationally consistent definition.

The committee recommended following the World Health Organisation definition of long COVID, but the Australian government should work with the states and territories to review this definition as more research and information becomes available.

The committee heard long COVID affects 5 to 10 per cent of Australians after an initial infection and could include 200 non-specific symptoms, making recognition and diagnosis challenging.

Many submitters described long COVID as a "mass disabling event", impacting their mental health, the ability to engage in daily living or social activities and a lack of any standardised treatment procedures.

The report outlined how prognosis was uncertain and there was little conclusive evidence about recovery periods.

One person told the committee being a patient suffering long COVID in Australia "is horrendous".

"Diagnosis is very slow, GPs are hard to book, there is no real knowledge and no real diagnosis," the submitter said.

"No medication to help symptoms because they are simply thought they will eventually resolve after months of suffering."

The committee also heard from people with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and recommended further research to provide better post-viral support.

Dr Freelander urged people to continue with basic public health measures such as mask wearing in public places and keep up to date with vaccine boosters.

But he also highlighted the need for a national vaccine policy, particularly focusing on the most high-risk groups.

"It's disappointing to know that in aged care, we still don't have as good a vaccine coverage as we should have. Self evidently an extremely high risk group," Dr Freelander said.

"So I think there's a lot more we can do as a community and I think that you know, we need bipartisanship on this."