While no one ever wants to get sick, there’s usually the assumption that the symptoms will be short-lived and you’ll be able to get back to your daily activities sooner rather than later. But for those dealing with Long Covid, which is defined as new, returning or ongoing symptoms after the initial COVID-19 infection, the dream of returning to pre-illness activity levels could feel far from reach.
CivicScience asked more than 2,400 U.S. adults about their experience with Long Covid and discovered that while 13% of respondents report knowing someone inside of their home who has experienced Long Covid symptoms, 23% know someone outside of the home. A much smaller 5% know both.
That’s more than 40% of U.S. adults with some experience of Long Covid.
Those who live in the South and Midwest are the most likely to have some experience with Long Covid, be it themselves or someone they know.
When it comes to age, respondents under 30 are roughly twice as likely as their counterparts to know someone with Long Covid (or have experienced it themselves).
When examining the pandemic’s financial impact on consumers, those who report being better off are the most likely to know someone with Long Covid. However, there is a strong percentage of people who report being worse off financially who also have this experience with this health issue.
Looking at current job status, Long Covid experience is more common in those who are working remotely or unemployed.
Given the long-term impacts of Long Covid symptoms, it may not come as a surprise that there’s a strong correlation between Long Covid and health concerns–both mental and physical. Those who have a household experience with Long Covid are much more likely to report being impacted by mental health challenges, and those who have any connection to ongoing Covid are eight percentage points more likely to have visited the doctor three or more times in the past year.
Additionally, those reporting experience with Long Covid are much more likely to consider themselves not very healthy at all, further noting the overall impact on one’s health the syndrome can cause.
Unfortunately, Long Covid, and Covid in general, aren’t going away any time soon. With more than 40% of U.S. adults having some experience with Long Covid, and a large percentage of those being remote workers under 30 years old, the ramifications of the virus are hitting this segment of U.S. adults not just physically, but financially and psychologically, too. So as Covid symptoms continue to stretch into the future, long-term health–in every sense of the word–will likely continue to be a top concern.
