Long COVID Is Keeping Up To 4 Million Americans Out Of Work

A new report from the Brookings Institution details the effects of long COVID on the workforce. The report found that 16 million Americans between the ages of 18 and 65 are suffering from symptoms associated with long COVID. Those symptoms can include general fatigue, shortness of breath, difficulty concentrating, stomach pains, and sleep problems.

The report estimated that between two and four million of those who have long COVID are forced to miss work, costing between $170 and $230 billion a year in lost wages.

"Critically, this number does not represent the full economic burden of long Covid because it does not include impacts such as the lower productivity of people working while ill, the significant health care costs patients incur, or the lost productivity of caretakers," the report states.

The report warns that if the number of patients with long COVID continues to increase by 10%, the annual cost of lost wages could approach $500 billion.

Scientists are still trying to understand long COVID and why some people continue to deal with symptoms months after recovering from COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that roughly 20% of people who get COVID will develop long COVID.