UK researchers examine the impact of long COVID on the workforce

UK researchers have described the impact of long COVID on employment in the UK.

Writing in Applied Economics Letters, the authors highlighted that 1.4 million people aged between 17 and 69 suffered from persistent COVID-19 symptoms that lasted longer than four weeks after the initial infection.

Close to one million people within this age range experienced symptoms for longer than three months.

Around one in five people of working age who have long COVID are limited in their daily activities.

An estimated 80,000 people had left work due to long COVID by March 2022.

Symptoms experienced by those with long COVID include heart and lung conditions, shortness of breath, fatigue, fever, headaches, brain fog and other neurological problems.

The University of Southampton and University of Portsmouth scientists argue that governments should provide employment protection and financial support for those affected by long COVID.

Policy solutions could include flexible working arrangements to accommodate ill-health and extensions to statutory sick pay.

Research undertaken by the Office for National Statistics in 2020 found that optometrists ranked 17th out of 359 professions when it came to COVID-19 exposure risk.