The authors note that studies on recovery from long COVID are “sparse and inconsistent.” But those that have closely evaluated individual manifestations of the virus have found recovery rates to be fairly low at one year, and only 7% to 10% fully recovered after two years. For millions and millions of people, the debilitating effects of long COVID are just that.

The economic toll is its own story. A Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey in 2022 found that between 2 million and 4 million working-age Americans were out of work because they were sidelined with the effects of long COVID. Meanwhile 20% of people with long COVID surveyed by the United Kingdom’s Trades Union Congress said they were not working. Another 16% were working reduced schedules.