Senate Public Health Committee considering long-term effects of COVID-19

CHICAGO (25News Now) - The Senate Public Health Committee held a hearing Tuesday on the long-term effects of COVID-19 in underserved communities across the state.

So far, a lack of data has made the effects difficult to understand.

The federal government ended the public health emergency in May of this year. The state followed suit and stopped reporting data on new COVID cases.

Now, a billion-dollar study out of the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) shows 10-15% of people infected with COVID-19 are experiencing long-term effects.

During the hearing, Dr. Jerry Krishnan said, “Long COVID is and can lead to a disability, and we’re seeing that. In the U.S., the economic cost of long COVID due to lost earnings is around $1 trillion alone.”

He also said extra healthcare expenses add about $500 billion, bringing the current economic toll of long COVID to about $1.5 trillion.

Tuesday’s hearing ended with Committee members committing to further discussions.

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