Thread by @Daniel_E_Park

Long COVID doesn't just pose threat to personal wellbeing, it impacts families, communities, and the national economy.

Recent estimates show it’s sidelined millions of workers, cost trillions in lost productivity, and is quietly reshaping the U.S. labor market and economy.

A recent nationwide study found:
- 35 million U.S. adults (1 in 7) have had long COVID symptoms
- 30 million are working-age
- 24 million face mental health or financial strain

This number is bigger than the entire population of Texas.
Link to study: nature.com/articles/s4385…

Lost wages from long COVID:
- $211B in 2022
- $218B in 2023

That’s similar to the GDP of countries like Portugal, Greece, or New Zealand taken away from household incomes.

Job market impact:

- 3.2M full-time equivalents lost in 2022
- 2.3M lost in 2023
~10M working with ongoing symptoms

These are people missing work, reducing hours, reducing efficiency, or unable to hold jobs due to fatigue, brain fog, or chronic symptoms.

Beyond physical impacts, the severe mental health burden is often overlooked.

2–3x higher risk of anxiety & depression

Many face social isolation, income loss, and difficulty accessing care

Harvard economist David Cutler estimates the total cost of long COVID at $3.7 TRILLION:

-$2.2T: lost quality of life
- $1.0T: lost earnings
- $528B: added medical costs

That’s 17% of U.S. GDP, or roughly the cost of the Great Recession.
hks.harvard.edu/centers/mrcbg/…

The SSA has noted a dramatic impact on disability, and the Federal Reserve has noted large-ranging impacts on the economy and workforce dynamics.

federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/…

nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/27756/…

Beyond unemployment and disability, Brookings notes that Long COVID may be keeping 2–4M people out of work, and lowering hours worked by tens of thousands of FTEs.

That’s a major drag on productivity not captured in the unemployment rate alone.

brookings.edu/articles/new-d…

Long COVID is not a fringe issue. It impacts society widely and is affecting employment, mental health, monetary policy, and long-term economic growth.

We need interventions and policy solutions that match the scale of the problem.

To start, we need to:
- Prevent infections through vaccines & cleaner air
- Maintain surveillance and tracking systems for COVID (acute & Long)
- Expand Long COVID clinics & facilitate access
- Continue research on treatments
- Support affected families

For more on policy and research, please refer to the excellent review by @EricTopol , @zalaly , @VirusesImmunity and others.
nature.com/articles/s4159…

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

For COVID & Long COVID, simple steps like improving vaccine uptake, selective masking, & better air filtration in schools and communal settings can protect individuals, communities, and significantly boost the economy.