A new study estimates that between 2 and 4 million Americans have dropped out of the labor force due to the effects of the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.
Brookings Institution report finds long-term effects of the disease cost workers as much as $170 billion in lost wages.
Report author Katie Back said the numbers might sound “incredibly high” but were consistent with the experience of comparable economies.
Using data collected from the Census Bureau Household Pulse Surveythe Washington, D.C.-based think tank estimates that 16 million working-age Americans between the ages of 18 and 65 are suffering from chronic Covid-19.
According to the CDC, symptoms include extreme fatigue that worsens after mental or physical exertion, chest pain, headache, and brain fog.
The numbers were confirmed in research from the UK, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and the journal Science Lancetfound that 22% of people who had been chronically infected with the new coronavirus had stopped working.
“These effects will worsen over time if the United States does not take the necessary policy action,” Ms Bach warned.
Ms Bach said further research was needed to determine the precise economic impact of the coronavirus on the economy.
The report pointed out that Harvard economics professor David Cutler calculated the long-term damage to the U.S. economy from the new crown epidemic at $3.7 trillion.
Costs include increased medical bills, reduced income and reduced quality of life.
according to to the CDClong-term Covid is most likely in people with severe illness.
The CDC says the coronavirus can be first identified four weeks after infection, usually three months later.
Researchers are still unable to accurately diagnose or treat the disease.
