Persisting Effects of the Coronavirus after Recovery may Cost US Government more than $50 Billion

Scientists at the City University of New York (CUNY) have discovered that the lingering effects of coronavirus in patients who are long discharged from the hospitals could cost the US nearly 50 billion dollars in healthcare. That is if only 20% of the citizens of the US are confirmed as covid19 positive and in case the vaccine isn’t developed soon and 80% of the Americans get infected then the cost of the healthcare can rise to 204 billion dollars.

Coronavirus patients including younger and older patients who, even after weeks or months of testing negative for the virus, can’t shake off their symptoms are becoming more and more common. Some experts are pushing for these networks of symptoms to be called a post-COVID syndrome. Studies continue to uncover complications related to the disease, and now there is mounting evidence that some patients after recovering face months and may face years of complications before they can fully recover, due to which health care workers are starting to contemplate possible long-term costs.

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Laura Gross a 72-year-old woman living in New Jersey was recovering from her surgery of gallbladder at home but she fell sick again. Her head, eyes, and throat hurt, her joints and muscles ached and eventually, she was diagnosed with covid19. Four months after her being diagnosed she still feels those symptoms. She is seeing specialists including a pulmonologist, neurologist, gastroenterologist, cardiologist, and endocrinologist while also seeing a primary doctor. According to her, she has a headache and a low-grade temperature since April.

Bruce Lee of the CUNY Public School of Health gave an estimation that if 20 percent of the US citizens contract coronavirus, the post-hospitalization cost for one year would be nearly 50 billion dollars before adding the factor of lingering effects of coronavirus in long term care of the patients. That cost would potentially rise to 204 billion dollars if there is no vaccine developed and 80% of the citizens of the US contracted the virus.

Countries that have suffered the most due to the coronavirus including Britain, the United States, and Italy are considering naming these lingering effects of coronavirus as ‘post-COVID syndrome’. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Britain’s Department of Health are each carrying out studies related to the long term impacts of the Covid19. A panel of International doctors will give suggestions to the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding standards for long and mid-term care of patients recovered from the virus.

Anne Mckee, a retired psychologist had asthma and multiple sclerosis when she was found COVID positive five months ago and she still struggles to catch her breath. According to her on good days she can do loads of laundry but in the last few days, it has been hard for her to get up and get a drink from the kitchen. She has spent at least 5000 dollars during that time on appointments, prescription drugs, and tests.

The United Kingdom is planning to track the health of at least 10,000 patients of the covid19 who were hospitalized, for the first 12 months and potentially up to 25 years since their hospitalization. Scientists conducting the study believe that there is a potential of long-term covid19 syndrome similar to what they found in Ebola survivors in Africa.