Long COVID caused $12.7 billion in lost U.S. wages from employee sick time in 2022 alone, highlighting its significant impact on the economy, a new study by University of Florida Health researchers says.

Lost wages for individuals with long COVID averaged $1,944 and were about 33% higher than those with COVID-19 without long-term symptoms, according to the study, published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine earlier this month.

“This is really a very conservative estimate of people missing work because long COVID is also going to affect general productivity as well,” said Dr. Arch Mainous, the study’s senior author and a professor and vice chair of research in the UF College of Medicine’s Department of Community Health and Family Medicine.

“Evidence of the impact of long COVID on morbidity and mortality is pretty strong and has been around for several years,” Mainous added. “We hope that demonstrating the substantial dollar cost to the U.S. workforce will make finding a long COVID prevention strategy a priority.”

“Morbidity” refers to the presence of illness, disease or poor health, especially in population-level health.

Long COVID is a condition in which symptoms caused by a COVID-19 infection linger for weeks or months after the initial illness, even in people who were never hospitalized. It can affect multiple organs and commonly includes fatigue, brain fog, shortness of breath and heart-related problems, which can interfere with daily life and work long after the virus has been eliminated.

Scientists believe the condition is a lingering, bodywide inflammatory response triggered by the immune system’s reaction to the virus.

Unlike many prior studies that relied on economic modeling or projections on the various economic impacts of long COVID, this analysis is based on real-world survey data capturing actual days of work missed by U.S. workers. By linking those missed days directly to wages, the study offers a concrete estimate of lost labor costs rather than one based on imprecise estimates, Mainous said.

The study drew on data from the federal Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, a nationally representative survey of U.S. households. The survey collects detailed information on health conditions, health care use, employment, wages and days of work missed due to illness or injury.

He noted that the study is limited to just 2022 because data for other years were unavailable or incomplete as the study was being finalized for publication. The study authors note that future studies will be needed to assess how the economic impact evolves over time.

The research team examined three groups of employees. They included a control group of people who never experienced COVID-19; those reporting COVID-19 symptoms lasting at least three months; and those with COVID-19 but not long COVID.

A control group was essential for the study because it provided researchers a baseline for comparison, isolating the effects of COVID-19 from illnesses or injuries that normally occur in the general population.

Mainous said the study shows policymakers that long COVID isn’t just a medical issue. It’s a sustained economic challenge that reduces productivity and earnings on a large scale.

That, in turn, suggests that investment in prevention, treatment and workplace accommodations might have a long-term economic benefit to the economy.

“Long COVID is a chronic condition of which there is currently no specific prevention or treatment,” Mainous said.

Other co-authors of the study are Rachel Liu-Galvin, a doctoral student in public health, and Dr. Frank A. Orlando, an associate professor in the Department of Community Health and Family Medicine and medical director of UF Health Family Medicine – Springhill.