The Current and Future Burden of Long COVID in the United States.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Long coronavirus disease (COVID), which affects an estimated 44.69-48.04 million people in the United States, is an ongoing public health concern that will persist as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to spread.

Methods

We developed a computational simulation model representing the clinical course, health effects, and associated costs of a person with long COVID.

Results

Simulations show that the average total cost of a long COVID case can range from $5084-$11 646 (assuming symptoms only last 1 year) with 92.5%-95.2% of these costs being productivity losses. Therefore, the current number of long COVID cases could cost society at least $2.01-$6.56 billion, employers at least $1.99-$6.49 billion in productivity losses, and

SUBMITTER: Bartsch SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12247809 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature