Doctors with Disabilities Push for Change as Long COVID Affects Their Workforce

As the third year of the pandemic continues, doctors with disabilities are pushing the medical field to improve its treatment of disabled health professionals. An increasing number of people have Long Covid and need accommodations at work, and in the health care workforce, their ability to stay in their profession will be critical to helping patients also suffering from the little-understood condition. One in five American adults who has been infected with COVID-19 has some lingering symptoms that can be considered Long COVID, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found this spring. While symptoms vary widely, Long COVID can cause health problems including brain fog, fatigue, shortness of breath, and headaches that significantly affect people’s ability to function on a daily basis. The federal government is preparing to release two reports on Long COVID in August. These ongoing health issues were likely keeping 1.6 million Americans out of the workforce earlier this year, according to an estimate from Brookings in January, and that has almost certainly increased. Katie Bach, the economist behind that estimate, recently told Congress that it’s likely about 4 million people—or 2.4% of the U.S. employed population—have a reduced ability to work because of Long COVID. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The impact on the health care workforce, experts say, could be devastating. “For those physicians and nurses that didn’t lo...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 feature uspoliticspolicy Source Type: news