Long COVID Leads to Lasting Effects on New York Workers, State, Study Finds

A study focusing on the first two years of pandemic data about worker’s compensation published in January by New York’s largest worker’s comp insurer, the state-run New York State Insurance Fund, found significant effects from long COVID on employment in the state. According to the Fund’s analysis, 71 percent of claimants classified as suffering from long COVID required 6 months or more of time off or continued medical treatment. Additionally, 18 percent had not returned to work after a year and 3 in 4 of those workers were under the age of 60.

The Fund notes that long COVID has “harmed the workforce” in the state and inferred that long COVID was a strong factor in lower workforce participation and employers’ difficulties in filling open positions. It has also had a high monetary cost to the state, with $17 million of its $20 million in claims going to long COVID sufferers.

This contributes to a growing body of research about the material and medical effects, both physical and mental, of long COVID. It has forced employers and workers to adjust to a new normal and even the Americans with Disabilities Act has been altered to reflect the severity of the condition.