More than two years after Georgia Linders first fell ill with COVID, her heart is still racing randomly.
She is often exhausted. She cannot digest certain foods.
Most days she has a fever, and when the temperature rises above a certain point, her brain feels like it’s tough, she says.
These are commonly reported symptoms of prolonged covid.
Linders really noticed problems with her brain when she returned to work in the spring and summer of 2020. Her job required her to be on the phone all day, coordinating with health clinics that serve the military. There was a lot of multitasking, which she excelled at before COVID.
After COVID, the brain fog and fatigue slowed her down tremendously. In autumn 2020, she was put on probation. After 30 days, she believed her performance had improved. She had certainly felt busy.
“But my supervisor picked up on my productivity, which was about a quarter of what my colleagues were doing,” she says.
It was demoralizing. Her symptoms worsened. She was given a new probationary period of 90 days, but she decided to take sick leave. On 2 June 2021, Linders was dismissed.
She submitted a discrimination complaint to the government, but it was rejected. She could have sued, but didn’t make enough money to hire a lawyer.
Survey data suggests millions of people are out of work due to prolonged COVID
As the number of people with post-COVID-19 symptoms rises, researchers and government officials are trying to get a handle on how long the impact of COVID-19 is having on the American workforce. It is an urgent question, given the fragile state of the economy. For more than a year, employers have faced staffing problems, with jobs going unfilled month after month.
Now, millions of people could be sidelined from their jobs due to prolonged COVID. Katie Bach, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, drew on survey data from the Census Bureau, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and the Lancet to come up with what she says is a conservative estimate: 4 million full-time equivalent workers out of work due to prolonged COVID.
“It’s just a shocking number,” says Bach. “That’s 2.4% of the US working population.”
Long-term COVID can be a disability under federal law
The Biden administration has already taken some steps to try to protect workers and keep them on the job, issuing guidance that makes clear that as long as COVID can be a disability and relevant laws will apply. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, for example, employers must provide accommodations to workers with disabilities unless doing so would create an undue burden.
Linders now thinks back to what she should have asked after she returned to work. She was already working from home due to the pandemic, but perhaps she could have been given a lighter workload. Perhaps her supervisor could have taken disciplinary action.
“Maybe I wouldn’t have gotten as sick as I did because I wouldn’t have pushed myself to do the things I knew I couldn’t do, but I kept trying and trying,” she says.
Dr. Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez, a professor of rehabilitation medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, has seen COVID play out in similar ways in other patients.
“If someone has to go back 100% when they start feeling a little bit better, they’re going to crash and burn quickly,” she says.
Finding accommodations for prolonged COVID can be complicated
The problem with coming up with long-term COVID accommodations is that there are so many unknowns. The duration and severity of symptoms varies greatly from person to person.
Gutierrez is struck dumb by questions about disability forms that ask how long a person can be out or how long the illness can last.
“This is a new condition,” she says. “We do not know.”
Accommodations in the workplace can include flexibility in where someone works, extended leave or a new role in a different department. The goal is to get workers back on track, says Roberta Etcheverry, CEO of Diversified Management Group, a disability consulting firm.
But with long COVID, it is difficult to measure whether an employee is actually on the way back.
“This is not a sprain or strain where someone turns an ankle and we know in x number of months they’re going to be at this point,” she says. “It’s not—someone was helping to move a patient, and they hurt their back, and they can’t do that kind of work anymore. They have to do something else.”
With prolonged covid, symptoms come and go, and new symptoms may appear.
The Ministry of Labor encourages employers not to rule out accommodation for employees who do not receive an official long-term covid diagnosis.
“Rather than determining whether an employee has a disability, you should focus on the employee’s limitations and whether there are effective accommodations that will enable the employee to perform essential job functions,” the Department of Labor says in its lengthy COVID guidance for employers .
Accommodation may be more difficult to obtain in some jobs
However, not all employers have the means to offer the type of accommodation an employee may need given their symptoms.
Bilal Qizilbash believes he would have been fired a long time ago if he had not been the boss of his own company.
“Most of my team has no idea that I work from bed most of the time,” says Qizilbash, a long-haul COVID carrier who suffers from chronic pain that he likens to wasp stings.
As the CEO of a small business that manufactures dietary supplements, Qizilbash says he tries to be compassionate while being ruthlessly efficient. Having one employee whose productivity is seriously compromised can end up negatively affecting the entire company, he says.
In other professions, it can be challenging to find accommodation that works, no matter how generous it is.
In South Florida, Karyn Bishof was a new recruit with the Palm Beach Gardens Fire Rescue team in 2020 when she contracted COVID, likely in a training session, she says. She comes from a family of firefighters and it was her lifelong dream to follow. But for a long time, COVID has left her with profound brain fog, fatigue, lightheadedness and a host of other symptoms incompatible with firefighting.
“I couldn’t run into a burning building if I can’t regulate the temperature,” she says. “If I can’t control having hypertension, I can’t lift a patient up or I’m going to pass out.”
Bishof was terminated from his job for failing to meet performance-related probation standards and has since become an advocate for COVID long-haul carriers.
The Ministry of Labor is collecting ideas for how to keep workers in work
Taryn Williams, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Policy, wants to hear from workers and employers. Through mid-August, the Ministry of Labor is holding an online dialogue, asking for input on guidelines that can help with workplace challenges as a result of prolonged covid.
“We want to be responsive,” says Williams. “We are considering how we can support these workers at what is a transformative time in their lives.”
She says that the government has encountered situations in the past when there was a sudden increase in the number of people who needed facilitation at work. For example, a significant number of service members returned from Iraq and Afghanistan with traumatic brain injuries. Williams says that such times have led to changes in disability policy in the United States
From her home in La Crosse, Wisconsin, Linders has contributed a number of comments to the Department of Labor’s online dialogue. Like Bishof, she also spends a lot of time helping other COVID long-haul carriers navigate what she’s been through, including qualifying for Social Security disability insurance.
Her advocate helps her feel like she’s contributing to society, even if it’s not the life she wanted.
“I don’t want to become disabled. I don’t want to take money from the state,” she says. “I’m only 45. I was going to work for at least another 20 years.”
Zaidi ya miaka miwili baada ya Georgia Linders kuambukizwa COVID-19, moyo wake bado unaendelea kugonga. Mara nyingi yeye huchoka sana. Hawezi kumeng'enya vyakula fulani. Siku nyingi ana homa, na wakati joto linapozidi kiwango fulani, ubongo wake huhisi kama ni mgumu, anasema. Hizi ni dalili za kawaida zinazoripotiwa za COVID iliyoendelea kwa muda mrefu. Linders aliona matatizo ya ubongo wake wakati aliporudi kufanya kazi katika majira ya kuchipua na majira ya joto ya 2020. Kazi yake ilimlazimu kuwa kwenye simu siku nzima, akishirikiana na kliniki za afya zinazohudumia jeshi. "Mimi nina uzoefu wa kufanya kazi nyingi, ambayo nilijua vizuri kabla ya COVID.""" Baada ya COVID-19, ukungu wa ubongo na uchovu ulimfanya apunguze sana. Katika msimu wa vuli wa 2020, alipewa marufuku ya kazi. Baada ya siku 30 aliona kuwa kazi yake imeboresha. Bila shaka alijihisi ameshughulika. "Lakini msimamizi wangu aliona uzalishaji wangu, ambao ulikuwa karibu robo ya kile wenzangu walikuwa wakifanya", anasema. Jambo hilo lilidhoofisha imani yangu. Dalili zake zilizidi kuwa mbaya. Alipewa muda mpya wa siku 90 lakini akaamua kuondoka kwa sababu ya ugonjwa. Mnamo Juni 2, 2021, Linders alifutwa kazi. Alitoa malalamiko ya ubaguzi kwa serikali, lakini yalikataliwa. Angeweza kushtaki, lakini hakupata pesa za kutosha kuajiri mwanasheria. Takwimu za utafiti zinaonyesha mamilioni ya watu hawana kazi kwa sababu ya COVID-19 ya muda mrefu, na idadi ya watu wenye dalili za baada ya COVID-19 ikiongezeka, watafiti na maafisa wa serikali wanajaribu kujua ni kwa muda gani athari za COVID-19 zinaathiri wafanyikazi wa Amerika. Ni swali la haraka, kwa kuzingatia hali dhaifu ya uchumi. Kwa zaidi ya mwaka mmoja, waajiri wamekabili matatizo ya kuajiri wafanyakazi, na kazi hazijajazwa mwezi baada ya mwezi. Mamilioni ya watu wanaweza kupoteza kazi zao kwa sababu ya COVID Katie Bach, mwanachama mwandamizi wa Taasisi ya Brookings, alitumia data ya uchunguzi kutoka kwa Ofisi ya sensa, Benki ya Hifadhi ya Shirikisho ya Minneapolis na Lancet kuja na kile anachosema ni makadirio ya kihafidhina: wafanyikazi milioni 4 wa wakati wote hawana kazi kwa sababu ya COVID ya muda mrefu. "Ni idadi yenye kushtua tu", Bach asema. "Hiyo ni asilimia 2.4 ya idadi ya watu wanaofanya kazi nchini Marekani, ""alisema Biden, ambaye ametoa mwongozo wa kuondoa sheria za ulemavu na sheria zinazohusiana na ugonjwa huo." Kwa mfano, chini ya Sheria ya Wamarekani wenye Ulemavu, waajiri lazima wape makazi kwa wafanyakazi wenye ulemavu isipokuwa kufanya hivyo kutaunda mzigo usiofaa. Linders sasa anafikiria tena yale ambayo angepaswa kuuliza baada ya kurudi kazini. """Mimi tayari ninafanya kazi kutoka nyumbani kwa sababu ya janga hilo, lakini labda ningeweza kumpa mzigo mwepesi wa kazi." Labda msimamizi wake angeweza kuchukua hatua za nidhamu. "Labda nisingekuwa mgonjwa kama nilivyofanya kwa sababu singekuwa nimejisukuma kufanya mambo niliyojua singeweza kufanya, lakini niliendelea kujaribu na kujaribu", anasema. Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez, profesa wa tiba ya ukarabati katika Chuo Kikuu cha Texas Health Science Center huko San Antonio, ameona COVID-19 ikitokea kwa njia sawa kwa wagonjwa wengine. "Ikiwa mtu anahitaji kurudi nyuma kwa asilimia 100 wanapokuwa na hisia nzuri, watashindwa na kuungua haraka", anasema. Kupata malazi kwa COVID ya muda mrefu inaweza kuwa ngumu, lakini tatizo la kupata malazi ya muda mrefu kwa COVID ni kwamba kuna mambo mengi yasiyojulikana. Muda na uzito wa dalili hutofautiana sana kutoka mtu mmoja hadi mwingine. Gutierrez alishangaa sana na maswali kuhusu fomu za ulemavu ambazo zinauliza ni muda gani mtu anaweza kuwa nje au ni muda gani ugonjwa unaweza kudumu. "Hii ni hali mpya", anasema. <unk>Hatujui.<unk> Marekebisho katika mahali pa kazi yanaweza kujumuisha kubadilika katika mahali ambapo mtu anafanya kazi, likizo ya muda mrefu au jukumu jipya katika idara tofauti. "Kama ilivyoelezwa hapo juu, ""Mwanzilishi wa kampuni ya Diversified Management Group, Roberta Etcheverry, anasema: ""Kuna uwezekano mkubwa wa kuwa na uwezo wa kufanya kazi kwa muda mrefu." Lakini kwa sababu ya COVID-19, ni vigumu kujua ikiwa mteja wako anaendelea na kazi yake. "Hii si sprain au mvutano ambapo mtu anageuka mguu na tunajua katika x idadi ya miezi wao "ni kwenda kuwa katika hatua hii", anasema. "Si kwamba" mtu alikuwa akisaidia kuhamisha mgonjwa, na walijeruhiwa mgongo, na hawawezi kufanya aina hiyo ya kazi tena. "Wanaweza kuwa na ""mwisho wa siku"" na dalili za COVID-19 zinaweza kuja na kwenda, na dalili mpya zinaweza kuonekana." Wizara ya Kazi inawahimiza waajiri kutokuwa na makazi kwa wafanyikazi ambao hawapati utambuzi rasmi wa muda mrefu wa COVID-19. "Badala ya kuamua kama mfanyakazi ana ulemavu, unapaswa kuzingatia mapungufu ya mfanyakazi na ikiwa kuna malezi yenye ufanisi ambayo yatamruhusu mfanyakazi kutekeleza kazi muhimu za kazi, " Idara ya Kazi inasema katika mwongozo wake mrefu wa COVID kwa waajiri. """ Hata hivyo, si waajiri wote wana uwezo wa kutoa aina ya malazi mfanyakazi anaweza kuhitaji kutokana na dalili zao. Bilal Qizilbash anaamini kwamba angekuwa amefukuzwa kazi muda mrefu uliopita kama hangekuwa bosi wa kampuni yake mwenyewe. "Wengi wa timu yangu hawajui kwamba mimi hufanya kazi kutoka kitandani wakati mwingi, ""Kizilbash, mtoaji wa COVID wa umbali mrefu ambaye anaugua maumivu ya kudumu ambayo anafananisha na kuumwa na nyigu, anasema." Akiwa Mkurugenzi Mtendaji wa kampuni ndogo inayotengeneza virutubisho vya chakula, Qizilbash anasema anajaribu kuwa mwenye huruma wakati akiwa na ufanisi usio na huruma. Kuwa na mfanyakazi mmoja ambaye uzalishaji wake umeharibiwa sana kunaweza kuathiri vibaya kampuni nzima, anasema. Katika kazi nyingine, inaweza kuwa vigumu kupata mahali pa kuishi panapofaa, hata iwe ni penye ukarimu kadiri gani. Karyn Bishoff, aliyekuwa mwanajeshi wa kwanza katika timu ya kuokoa moto ya Palm Beach Gardens, alipatwa na COVID-19 mnamo 2020 wakati wa mafunzo. Yeye hutoka katika familia ya wazima moto na ilikuwa ndoto yake ya maisha kufuata. Lakini kwa muda mrefu, COVID imemwacha na ukungu mkubwa wa ubongo, uchovu, kizunguzungu na dalili nyingine nyingi ambazo hazipatani na kuzima moto. "Siwezi kukimbia ndani ya jengo linalowaka ikiwa siwezi kudhibiti joto", anasema. "Ikiwa siwezi kudhibiti kuwa na shinikizo la damu, siwezi kuinua mgonjwa au nitapoteza fahamu. ""Bishof aliachiliwa kazi kwa kushindwa kukidhi viwango vya majaribio yanayohusiana na utendaji na tangu wakati huo amekuwa mtetezi wa wabebaji wa umbali mrefu wa COVID." Wizara ya Kazi imepanga kuanzisha mkutano wa wafanyakazi wa Marekani kuhusu jinsi ya kuendeleza kazi ya uajiri, na Waziri wa Kazi wa Marekani Taryn Williams amesema kuwa ni muhimu kuwasiliana na wafanyakazi wa nchi hiyo. Kwa upande wake, Wizara ya Kazi imeweka mazungumzo ya mtandaoni, ikiomba maoni juu ya miongozo ambayo inaweza kusaidia na changamoto za mahali pa kazi kama matokeo ya COVID ya muda mrefu. "Tunataka kuwa na majibu", anasema Williams. "Tunafikiria jinsi tunaweza kuunga mkono wafanyakazi hawa katika wakati huu wa mabadiliko katika maisha yao,"" alisema, akisema serikali imekutana na hali wakati wa zamani ambapo kulikuwa na ongezeko la ghafla la idadi ya watu waliohitaji kuwezesha kazi." Kwa mfano, idadi kubwa ya wanajeshi walirudi kutoka Iraq na Afghanistan wakiwa na majeraha ya ubongo. "Waliandika katika jarida la ""The New York Times"" kwamba ""mwanamke huyo, ambaye anaishi katika mji wa La Crosse, Wisconsin, ameandika makala kadhaa kwenye mtandao wa Wizara ya Kazi." Kama Bishoff, yeye pia hutumia muda mwingi kusaidia waendeshaji wengine wa COVID wa umbali mrefu kusafiri kupitia kile amekuwa, pamoja na kufuzu kwa bima ya ulemavu wa Usalama wa Jamii. Mtetezi wake humsaidia kuhisi kana kwamba anachangia jamii, hata kama si maisha aliyotaka. <unk>Sitaki kuwa mlemavu. Sitaki kuchukua pesa kutoka kwa serikali, "anasema. <unk>Nina umri wa miaka 45 tu. Nilikuwa na mpango wa kufanya kazi kwa angalau miaka mingine ishirini.