Employment, economic impacts merit scrutiny

Are you a person with disabilities who also lives with Long COVID? Or has Long COVID resulted in disability status for the first time?

Are you concerned about how Long COVID has affected or could affect your employment? Do you wonder about how your employment is governed under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?

Learn about these interrelated issues at a free online seminar offered 10-11 a.m. Thursday, October 9. Pre-registration for this Zoom meeting is required.

After registering, prospective participants will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

The deadline for accommodations was in September but if anyone has questions, contact [email protected].

The presenter is Cindy Tarshish, director of ADA Minnesota, a program of the Metropolitan Center for Independent Living (MCIL). MCIL is providing the training through a grant from the Minnesota Department of Health. MCIL is also working with the Minnesota Statewide Independent Living Council organization on the event.

This lively and engaging presentation will provide many real-life examples for viewers. Learn how Long COVID is defined, and how the ADA defines disability. More than 20 million Americans have Long COVID. In 2021, the federal Department of Health and Human Services issued guidance confirming that Long COVID can be a disability under the ADA. That guidance means that individuals with Long COVID may be entitled to protections under the law. This includes reasonable accommodations in the workplace. Part of the presentation will include information on reasonable accommodations that need to be offered to employees living with this disability.

Another key topic to be covered is disclosure of a disability. Key points also include resources and takeaways.

Tarshish will end the training with a question and answer session she loves to call “Stump the presenter.”

When Long COVID was first found to be a disabling condition, questions were raised about employment and accommodations. Long COVID can complicate retaining a job or returning to work. Long COVID can cause a variety of symptoms, including fatigue, cognitive impairment, respiratory problems, and organ damage, which can meet this definition. Research shows that Long COVID significantly impacts employment. Persistent fatigue and cognitive issues can take a huge toll. Some people recover enough that they can resume previous work schedules. Others cannot.

Studies show reduced workforce participation, lower likelihood of working full-time, and increased unemployment rates among affected individuals. A very difficult consequence is job and income loss. That in turn leads to financial stress. Higher rates of unemployment have been tracked for those living with Long COVID as compared to those unaffected by the condition. Severity of Long COVID symptoms affects how long and how much a person’s work is affected. For some people, this does affect the ability to maintain employment, even on a reduced basis.

Economic impacts eyed

Long COVID is often discussed in the context of costs to the healthcare system. Several studies have also looked at the overall economic impacts. One enlightening article about Long COVID and employment can be found on the Yale Medicine website: Long COVID keeps people out of work and hurts the economy.

“Long COVID isn’t just a health issue—it’s hitting wallets and workplaces hard. Millions of Americans are struggling to return to work months after their initial infection, and the economic toll is staggering as governments and employers scramble to address this growing challenge,” the article stated.

A recent Yale-led study found that up to 14 percent of 3,500 Long COVID patients surveyed in the US had not returned to work three months after getting sick. The research team also found that nearly one in 10 Long COVID patients suffered from five or more symptoms. These participants—which included young, previously healthy individuals—were twice as likely to be unable to return to work within three months compared to those without symptoms.

“It’s a myth to assume this data reflects issues limited to unvaccinated individuals, retiring adults, or people with pre-existing medical conditions,” said Arjun Venkatesh, MD, professor of emergency medicine at Yale School of Medicine and the primary author of the study. “Our cohort tends to be younger and highly vaccinated, yet the reality is that they continue to have prolonged symptoms after an acute COVID infection, which significantly affects their ability to work.”
Venkatesh is conducting longer-term analyses to see if these patients eventually return to work even one or two years after infection.

Long COVID’s significant impact on the economy are outlined in various studies. Research published in Nature Medicine estimates that more 400 million people worldwide have developed Long COVID at some point. That has resulted in an annual global economic cost of $1 trillion.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) provided a similar estimate of $864 million to $1.04 trillion, even when excluding the direct costs of medical care. In 2022, research from Harvard estimated the total cost of Long COVID at a staggering $3.7 trillion, using three key parameters: lost quality of life ($2.2 trillion), lost earnings ($1 trillion), and additional medical expenses ($528 billion). Lost quality of life represents the largest share of this estimate as individuals struggle to work, support their families, and participate in consumption and spending.

Another interesting article is published by the National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health (NIH): The Impact of Long COVID on Employment and Well-Being: A Qualitative Study of Patient Perspectives.

The studies involved explored the experience of Long COVID patients who face challenges with employment, and how those challenges may inform improvements in how healthcare systems can provide holistic care for people.

A sample of people in the studies found that approximately one-quarter reported significant activity limitations, and nearly two-thirds reported a disability. It was also found that individuals with Long COVID have been shown to have a lower likelihood of full-time employment and a higher likelihood of unemployment compared to individuals without Long COVID. Twenty-two percent of individuals with Long COVID have reported they were unable to work 6 months after initial infection, 45 percent required a reduced work schedule, and 18 percent were unable to return to work a year after COVID-19 infection. Due to this reduced capacity to work, it is estimated that Long COVID resulted in a minimum of $170 billion in lost wages in the USA in 2022.

Access Press provides coverage of COVID issues with support from the Metropolitan Center for Independent Living (MCIL).

This activity is made possible by a grant from the Long COVID Program of the Minnesota Department of Health.