Long Covid may be ‘the next public health disaster’ — with a $3.7 trillion economic impact rivaling the Great Recession

Sam Norpel and her family. Norpel, 48, second from the right, got Covid-19 in December 2021 and hasn’t recovered. This chronic illness, known as long Covid, impacts up to 23 million Americans.

Sam Norpel would give financial updates to the executives.

Unpredictable bouts of broken, staccato speech make that impossible for the former e- commerce executive.

Norpel got Covid-19 in December of 2016 despite being up to date with vaccines and boosters.

She felt worse with a range of symptoms that made it impossible to work.

Consumers lay out $1,600 for health products, which can be used to take advantage of health expenses before the end of the year.

Cold water or cool air on the skin can cause her to stop speaking. She wears noise-canceling headphones all the time.

The computer is slow when it comes to Norpel's body and mind. I'm 48 years old and I feel like 78.

Millions of Americans have long Covid, also known as long-haul Covid, post- Covid or post-Acute Covid syndrome. Long Covid is a chronic illness with symptoms that last for months or years after a Covid infections.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as many as 23 million Americans have been affected by Covid-19 long-haul symptoms.

The country is about to enter its fourth year of the coronaviruses outbreak and is expected to have a tough winter.

Most Americans have had Covid 19 at this point, according to researchers.

Studies show that infections increase the chance of an adverse outcome. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one million Americans have died from the virus.

The Long Covid shows that the virus is taking a long time to heal. It's the next public health disaster, according to medical experts.

There are a lot of people affected by this, according to Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of the Center for Vaccine Development.

As Covid-19 continues to circulate, that number will only continue to grow.

In the same way HIV/AIDs was a game-changer, this could be game-changing.

The labor gap, disability benefits, life insurance, household debt, and financial ruin are just some of the things that Covid affects.

The first CNBC special report examining long Covid's destructive impact on individuals, families and the U.S. economy is here.

According to an economist at Harvard University, Covid is a huge drag on the US economy. The aggregate cost is comparable to the Great Recession, according to a report.

The total was revised upward due to the fact that there was a greater prevalence of long Covid than previously thought. The 80.5 million confirmed U.S. Covid cases are the basis for the revised estimate.

$528 billion of the total is spent on higher medical expenses. The cost of lost earnings and reduced quality of life in the US is over $1 trillion.

Long Covid will affect our communities, our health care system, our economy and the well-being of future generations, according to a report from the Department of Health and Human Services.

Her husband was able to care for their kids because Norpel was the household's main earner. The family has been living on a long-term disability policy, a vestige of her old job, and the funds replace just a third of her previous pay. Norpel's husband needs to find a job and juggle caretaking duties with health insurance.

Money concerns include the ability to continue funding her daughter's college education, the chance of raiding retirement accounts or selling their home to survive. Norpel's son wondered if he should get a job to support the family, but he didn't have a driver's license.

Norpel said that Covid changed everything.

What we know so far about long Covid is startling.

The condition can be developed by anyone who has Covid-19. The World Health Organization says that people can get it regardless of their initial infections. Those who were previously fit and healthy are affected.

Studies show that women are more likely to have long-haul symptoms than men. The HHS said that people of color are more likely to get sick due to the increased likelihood of a Covid-19 infection and less access to high-quality health care.

The definition of long Covid has not been arrived at by the medical community.

The definition depends on who you ask, according to Dr. Vanichkachorn.

Some of the opinions differ.

• Cause: Doctors don’t yet know what causes long Covid. They have theories: Perhaps it’s an autoimmune disorder, like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis, whereby the virus is gone but the immune system remains active, attacking healthy cells by mistake; or maybe small blood clots develop in the brain, too small to cause a stroke but big enough to trigger neurologic issues.

• Key symptoms: Long Covid has been linked to more than 200 symptoms, according to The Rockefeller Foundation. Shortness of breath, fatigue, and sleep disorders or insomnia are the most common symptoms, according to a recent global meta-analysis published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, a peer-reviewed journal. Others include anxiety, depression, body aches, headache, heart palpitations and “brain fog” — which describes challenges associated with cognition, like thinking, concentration, communication, comprehension, memory and motor function. Some sufferers have organ damage, to the heart, lungs, kidneys, skin and brain.

• Duration: There’s no consistent definition of how long symptoms must persist for someone to be considered a long Covid patient. For example, the CDC says a person has long-haul symptoms if they persist beyond (or start after) one month from an initial Covid-19 infection. The WHO generally uses a three-month barometer. Different health clinics may use others still.

Some Covid symptoms can last months or years. According to the meta-analysis, about 15% of people have their ailments persist for three months or more after they've been bitten.

One of them is a paralegal. The man caught Covid in November 2020. Two years after she was first diagnosed with long Covid, she hasn't recovered.

The 42-year-old, who lives in Delaware, is unable to work and is in the process of applying for Social Security Disability Insurance, for which qualification is notoriously stringent. All of her progress, which had been saved in a draft, was recently deleted because too much time had passed.

Hurst is having a hard time making ends meet. She also gets Medicaid health benefits and food stamps. Her credit cards are not being used.

"I don't know if it's for the rest of my life or not"

She said it will probably continue until there is a test, a medication, more research, and education for the public. This will be my experience for a long time.

"It doesn't mean forever" This is my reality at the moment.

A year has passed since the formal diagnosis code for Covid was created.

The code was approved by the CDC. According to the HHS report, an official diagnosis makes it easier for patients to access long Covid-related treatments, file for disability insurance and request accommodations at work.

There isn't a definitive lab test for it yet.

There is no diagnostic test for Post-Acute COVID Syndrome. The diagnosis is a clinical one.

A confirmed positive Covid-19 test result, with enough time passing after initial infections and persistent symptoms consistent with hundreds of other long Covid patients may be adequate.

Patients at the Post-Acute COVID Syndrome clinic often get all sorts of testing from a primary care doctor. There are tests that can be used to look for heart or lung conditions, as well as brain inflammation and a possible autonomic disorder.

Medical experts say that it's frustrating for patients when testing comes back negative.

Alice Burns is an associate director of the Program on Medicaid and the Uninsured at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All other diagnoses have been ruled out.

There are a lot of physicians or care providers who are reluctant to apply a label they see as defined as everything but the kitchen sink.

Some physicians are unwilling to entertain long Covid as a cause for health problems.

Diana Gthe, founder of Survivor Corps, said there are a lot of physicians who are reluctant to apply a label they see as everything but the kitchen sink. Gthe had and recovered from long Covid, and she is a member of the Survivor Corps.

Donna Pohl met with a specialist in November to help treat the damage done to the nerves by long Covid. The visit went poorly.

The specialist told the person that everyone wanted to blame Covid. We are not dumb or crazy.

The HHS report said that people often write off symptoms as a result of anxiety and depression.

She said that neurosciences would focus on Norpel's headaches. She was told to stop reading when she mentioned the disease. It was similar to a doctor. She said'mansplaining'.

She had a consultation at the Mayo Clinic where she was told she had a long history of Covid.

Norpel began to cry when the doctors spoke to her.