The Minnesota Department of Health is trying to get a better grasp on the extent of so-called "Long COVID" among the state's residents.
MDH has created a Long COVID Guiding Council made up of 20 health professionals to help improve the quality of long COVID care. Experts say between 5% and 30% of the population may experience long COVID, which can be anything from lingering mild to severe cold-like symptoms, to things like rashes, hair loss and tinnitus.
“Some of the more common ones are things like extreme fatigue that can interfere with daily life, shortness of breath and brain fog, which doesn’t sound very bad but it doesn’t do service to how bad the cognitive impact can be for someone who struggles with memory recall and concentration,” explains Murray.
The department's Long COVID Program Manager Kate Murray says it's not going away, and will continue to impact the state's workforce.
“A lot of people need accommodations, and they are covered under the ADA to get back to work,” says Murray. “So they might need something like a gradual return, reduced hours, they might need to modify their duties at work like needing to sit more or lift things less.”
MDH has also launched two surveys to help identify and address long COVID in the state. More information about long COVID and MDH’s work along with resources and recovery support information are available on the MDH Long COVID website.
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