Long COVID has forced about 1 million U.S. workers out of the labor force, The Wall Street Journal reported Aug. 26.
The chronic condition occurs after a COVID-19 infection and lasts for at least three months, according to the CDC. Symptoms include difficulty concentrating, memory changes, fatigue and shortness of breath.
More than 5% of U.S. adults have long COVID, and it is most common for those in prime working years, according to the Journal.
It can make simple tasks such as answering an email challenging. For cafe owner Stacy Cooper, it became difficult to remember customers' names and their orders and harder to calculate their change, she told the news outlet.
"People can't go back to work or have to significantly cut down on the amount of work that they can handle," Akiko Iwasaki, PhD, an immunobiology professor at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn., told the Journal.
Among U.S. adults, 4.4% said long COVID has limited their activity, and 1.4% said it has significant limits on their activity, according to the Census Bureau and the CDC.
However, some have chosen to continue working. The federal government classifies long COVID as a disability, and employment of Americans with disabilities has increased to 7.4 million in July 2024 from 5.7 million in July 2019.
Some human resource managers have offered accommodations such as remote work and flexible hours, the Journal reported.