President Joe Biden has declared that people living in the United States who are dealing with severe and long-term symptoms of COVID19 might meet the criteria to be protected under federal disability law. The US government will help make federal resources accessible for people who are dealing with long COVID. The officials have announced their decision at an event that has been held at the White House on the occasion of the 31st anniversary of the Americans with Disability Act. Health authorities have said that at times long-term symptoms of COVID19 such as fatigue or brain fog can shoot up to the level of a disability. The Biden administration has said that officials will try to bring all federal agencies together to make sure people who are dealing with lingering symptoms of long COVID and have a disability get access to the rights and resources that are available under the disability law. President Joe Biden has said that the disability act consists of resources such as housing, and services at the workplace, school, and in the health care system, therefore, these people can live their lives in a dignified way. As per the latest report, the departments of Health and Human Services, Education, Justice, and Labor have made their guidelines public to help those people who are dealing with lingering signs and symptoms of long COVID access the profits of the disability law.
Health authorities have said that the new guideline makes everything clear, however, long COVID will not be automatically termed as a disability. Experts from the department of health and human services (HHS) have said that they will separately assess a person’s long COVID state to see if his or her disease or any of its symptoms largely limits a key life activity. They have said that the assessment is quite necessary to cover such patients under disability law and give them access to resources. The new guideline states that some people who are dealing with long COVID might qualify for certain realistic changes at work or in schools and community-based resources as well. These resources will help such patients with medical care and housing, said the experts. Health experts have said that some people who have been diagnosed with COVID19 recover from the disease within weeks, and some patients who have been infected with the disease in the past continue to deal with long-term symptoms of the disease even after recovery. Some lingering symptoms of the disease are wide-ranging such as joint ache, fever, double vision, fatigue, and even hair loss among patients. Health experts have said that there is very little medical care available for COVID long haulers.
The officials from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have said that they are still trying to find out and understand the recovery phase of the viral disease. Many health experts have said that the crisis of long COVID has been reflecting the pandemic itself. It will create a tsunami of disability. It will take an uneven toll on low-income people of color or from minority ethnic groups. People who deal with long-term signs and symptoms of COVID19 12 weeks post COVID19 infection are known as COVID long haulers. These people suffer from symptoms such as difficulty sleeping, joint, and muscle aches, sore throat, fever, and headaches as well. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said that the COVID19 pandemic has reduced life expectancy in the United States by a year and a half in 2020 since 2003. The life expectancy has come down to 77.3 years. Experts have said that the drop in life expectancy has been led by COVID19 deaths. There has been a 73.8 percent decline in life expectancy due to the pandemic. In 2019, the life expectancy has been 78.8 years in the United States.
