Long COVID puts million Americans off career paths: WSJ

NEW YORK, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- Long COVID has pushed around one million Americans out of the labor force, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Monday cited economists, noting that over 5 percent of adults in the United States have long COVID, which is most prevalent among Americans in their prime working years.

"Never before have so many Americans redrawn their relationships with work as a result of one public-health crisis," said the report. "More than four years after the pandemic began, some are still reckoning with how to balance their livelihoods and life with long COVID, the chronic condition doctors are still trying to understand."

People at the height of careers in finance, technology and healthcare are operating without clarity on when, or if, they can resume the paths they once laid out, it noted, adding that about 3.6 million people reported significantly modifying their activities because of the illness in a recent survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Long COVID is a chronic condition with symptoms lasting at least three months after a COVID infection, according to the CDC. Symptoms include fatigue, changes in memory, shortness of breath and trouble concentrating.

Long COVID can make tasks as simple as responding to an email arduous, people with the condition say. They struggle to summon the right word or manage stress. Among its many symptoms is post-exertional malaise, which can worsen after even minor physical or mental activity.