by Raywat Deonandan, PhD
Epidemiologist & Associate Professor
University of Ottawa
(I add my credentials to these COVID-19 blog posts in case they get shared. I want readers to know that my opinion is supposedly an educated and informed one)
In 2020, Harvard economist Dr David Cutter estimated that the cost to American society of so-called Long COVID would be a staggering $2.6 trillion, representing 17% of GDP. For comparison, total US health care spending historically is around 18% of GDP.
This post-viral condition is poised to be one of, if not the, most impactful health conditions for coming years and possibly decades. Some believe that the pandemic is over. (It’s not.) But COVID will continue to render its horrors upon us for some years to come.
Later today, I will join Fahad Razak and Jennifer Frontera on a panel discussion on TVOntario’s The Agenda, about some of the challenges posed by Long COVID. In preparation for that session, I’ve decided to briefly jot down a summary of what is known about this syndrome. (more…)
