According to a report published by the Brookings Institution this week, up to 4 million people may be out of work because of long COVID in the United States. The report suggests that could add up to at least $170 billion per year in lost wages in the U.S.
The study looked at people who worked full time, or the equivalent of full-time hours before they acquired long COVID. According to federal data, that is an estimated 12 million people in the country.
It then estimated the number of people who were out of work or were working reduced hours because of persistent health issues following infection due to COVID. The research used the definition of long COVID from the Household Pulse Survey of the Census Bureau. They described a person with long COVID as someone with symptoms lasting three months or longer that were not present pre-COVID.
Long COVID affecting lots of people across the globe
Several studies have attempted to quantify the impact of long COVID on employment in the U.S. and other countries. A working paper last month from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis estimated that 26 percent of people with long COVID were out of work or had reduced their working hours as of mid-2021.
An international survey found that 22 percent of people with long COVID were not working because of their illness, and 45 percent had reduced hours as of 2020. A survey conducted in the United Kingdom found that 16 percent of people with long COVID had reduced hours and 20 percent were on paid sick leave between April and May 2021.
Based on those findings, the Brookings report determined that 2 million to 4 million people in the United States are working less or not at all because of their illness. Katie Bach, the report's author and a nonresident senior fellow at Brookings, told NBC News that this is a shocking number.
Long COVID considered a disability in the U.S.
She added that if this looks like other post-viral illnesses, some people will recover. The worry is there will be this big stock of people who don't, and the numbers will continue to grow over time.
Long COVID can be hard to define since symptoms of the illness are wide-ranging and can last months to years. Many people suffering from the condition experience brain fog, joint or muscle pain, fatigue, chest pain, dizziness, heart palpitations, changes in their ability to taste or smell, or menstrual changes.
A study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) back in June found that 1 in 13 adults in the United States, and 19 percent of adults who have had the coronavirus before, have long COVID symptoms.
The United States considers long COVID a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) if the illness substantially limits one or more major life activities, including one's ability to work.
