Back-to-Office Pressure Is Creating a Crisis for Long COVID Patients

Chimére Smith used to love her job as an English teacher in the Baltimore public school system. But she hasn’t taught since March 2020, when she caught COVID-19 and then developed Long COVID. Two years later, she still experiences symptoms including fatigue, migraines, blurry vision, chronic pain, and dizziness. Smith says she and her school district haven’t agreed upon accommodations that would allow her to return to the classroom, so she currently receives disability benefits—but they will expire in about six months, leaving her to rely on Social Security or potentially forcing her back into the workforce. (A Baltimore City Public Schools spokesperson said in a statement that any employee with a diagnosed health condition that affects their ability to work can request accommodations; the system approved 600 requests during the 2020-2021 school year, most related to COVID-19.) [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The thought of potentially having to work before she’s ready causes Smith stress to the point of physical pain, she says. “Having to return back to work, knowing that I don’t feel well enough in my body still, is scary,” she says. Stories like Smith’s are common. Many people with Long COVID symptoms are unable to work or must do their jobs through extreme discomfort. Other long-haulers, as people with Long COVID are sometimes known, have been unable to secure disability benefits, in many cases because th...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 healthscienceclimate Source Type: news