Long COVID costs countries billions of dollars

A woman, who suffers from long COVID, holds a walking stick at her home in Salvador, Brazil December 8, 2023. REUTERS/Felipe Iruata
explainer

A woman, who suffers from long COVID, holds a walking stick at her home in Salvador, Brazil December 8, 2023. REUTERS/Felipe Iruata

What’s the context?

An estimated 400 million people have suffered long COVID since the start of the pandemic

  • Health bills rise as productivity drops
  • Estimates vary on how many millions are affected
  • More women report long COVID symptoms; poor hit hardest

Long COVID is costing countries billions of dollars in lost productivity and increased health and social welfare costs, economists say.

Five years on from the start of the COVID-19 crisis, millions of people are struggling with debilitating health problems that have decimated their lives and livelihoods.

The first cases of long COVID were reported in May 2020.

However, a dearth of robust data, especially in developing countries, means the picture remains very unclear and research findings vary significantly.

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Here are some estimates on the prevalence of long COVID and its economic burden.

Approximately 400 million people have been affected by long COVID since the beginning of the pandemic. Global estimates indicate that about 6% of people develop long COVID symptoms after infection, according to the World Health Organization.

More than 200 symptoms - extreme fatigue, breathlessness, brainfog, heart palpitations and joint pain - have been reported, but there is no universally accepted definition.

While some people are only mildly impacted and recover, studies indicate tens of millions may face years of impairment.

Health experts suggest up to 230 million people could be currently affected. 

BRITAIN - An estimated 2 million people in England and Scotland - 3.3% of the population - had long COVID in early 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). 

About half had suffered symptoms for at least two years, and nearly a third - 732,000 people - for at least three years.

Three quarters said their symptoms affected everyday life. Nearly one in five - 381,000 people - reported a severe impact on daily activities.

Women are 20% more likely to report symptoms than men, according to the ONS data. Rates are also higher among the most deprived.

One study estimated long COVID cost the economy at least 5.7 billion pounds in lost productivity from 2022 to 2023, and valued the informal care by loved ones at 4.8 billion pounds.

Some economists calculate that annual healthcare costs arising from long COVID could be about 4.2 billion pounds ($5.22 billion) by 2030 and suggest 46,000 extra healthcare workers are needed to support people with the condition.

UNITED STATES - About 6.4% of adults had long COVID in 2023, according to government estimates. About one in five report major limitations on daily life. Data from Canada paints a similar picture. 

A 2023 paper published by the Brookings Institution think tank estimated long COVID may have cut the workforce by about 700,000 people. Other estimates have been much higher.

A 2022 study indicated long COVID may have already cost an estimated $386 billion in lost wages, savings and medical bills, with 2.3% of the adult population suffering "disabling" symptoms.

Those with the worst symptoms are over seven times more likely to face eviction or foreclosure than people without long COVID.

AUSTRALIA - Academics estimated that about 100 million labour hours were lost in 2022 due to long COVID, costing the economy about 9.6 billion Australian dollars ($5.98 billion), or a quarter of real gross domestic product (GDP) growth.

But they said this was an underestimate as it did not include people who gave up work to care for others.

Up to 873,000 Australians could still be living with long COVID.

WORLDWIDE - An analysis by the Economist of eight countries suggested the economic cost of long COVID in 2024 ranged from 0.5% of GDP for Brazil, Spain, the United Kingdom and United States to 2.3% for Saudi Arabia.

The OECD, a club of mostly rich nations, estimates long COVID could be costing its 38 members $864 billion to $1.04 trillion annually due to reductions in quality of life and labour force participation. This does not include the extra burden on health services.

Across the European Union, long COVID impacted an estimated 2.9% of the population in 2022, reducing labour supply by 0.3-0.5%.

Studies suggest the health costs of treating people with long COVID could be on a par with other chronic conditions.  

Sources: WHO, ONS, The Lancet, OECD, Economist Impact, Reuters

($1 = 0.8051 pounds)

($1 = 1.6059 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Emma Batha; Editing by Lyndsay Griffiths.)


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  • Unemployment
  • Government aid
  • COVID-19
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