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Long COVID Resources

MCIL, with a grant from the Long COVID Program of the Minnesota Department of Health, serves as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title I Employment expert and primary referral resource for Long COVID. 

Additionally, MCIL has:

  • Conducted listening sessions with community partners to understand Long COVID’s impact within the disability community
  • Trained employers, partners, families with disabilities via digitally accessible presentations about the latest Long COVID information
  • Provided ADA expertise in advocacy and coaching services for people and family members dealing with Long COVID (in a variety of areas, including housing, employment, and legal rights regarding accommodations etc.)
  • Shared information via social media platforms and partnered with Access Press
  • Engaged the public health departments for each of the seven counties in the greater St. Paul and Minneapolis area about Long COVID’s impact

This website and links cover a range of topics including:

  • Definitions of Long COVID
  • Estimated prevalence of Long COVID in Minnesota
  • How the ADA may apply in employment and other situations
  • Broader impacts of COVID
  • Known and emerging identification of Long COVID symptoms
  • Related legal and policy developments
  • Promising treatment and prevention developments

What is Long COVID and How Can the ADA Apply?

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has defined Long COVID as “a chronic condition that occurs after SARS-CoV-2 infection and is present for at least 3 months. Long COVID includes a wide range of symptoms or conditions that may improve, worsen, or be ongoing.”

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) explains:

Long COVID refers to infection-associated chronic conditions that can happen after having COVID-19. Many symptoms have been reported, but some of the most common include fatigue, brain fog, extreme tiredness after activity, headaches, muscle pain, change in taste or smell, and shortness of breath. Some people with Long COVID have mild to moderate symptoms that gradually get better after a few months. Others have more severe or even debilitating symptoms that can last for several months or years.

MDH estimated that, based on a 2023 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and as of 2024, “395,000 Minnesotans may have experienced long COVID, including 17,000 children and youth.” This Statewide Roadmap (PDF) charts a critical path forward with ideas for systems change, policy considerations, and recommendations in different areas.

Workers who are experiencing Long COVID symptoms and have problems with working may be protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504, and under the Minnesota Human Rights Act. Also, antidiscrimination protections apply to healthcare access as well as other areas in which reasonable accommodations may be necessary to allow a person with substantially limiting Long COVID symptoms to access services and other offerings.

MCIL provides expert technical assistance to individuals, employers, and service providers on Long COVID and employment. Contact Dan Stewart at dans@mcil-mn.org with any questions.

What are still emerging impacts of Long COVID on work and workers?

There is a significant impact of Long COVID on workers. Workers with Long COVID have a range of symptoms (brain fog or difficulty concentrating, significant/unusual fatigue, vision issues, headaches, pain, and among others, shortness in breathing) as well as a large range of severity of symptoms. For those workers whose symptoms are severe enough to limit the ability to work, there have been many implications, such as workers having:

  • To leave the workforce temporary or entirely;
  • Worse physical health overall;
  • Been unable to work at their full capacity;
  • Needed to reduce their work hours;
  • Changed their employment type to or from being self-employed;
  • Limited their activities outside of work;
  • Negative financial, social, emotional, and health care participation impacts;
  • Left the workforce entirely, especially those who are older and have more health conditions; and
  • not being able to perform as well as before at work, or “presenteeism.”

Learn more at the following links:

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA) can afford protections to most workers who are experiencing Long COVID. The ADA and MHRA can be relied on to request reasonable accommodations and go through an interactive process to determine how the worker can stay on the job and perform the essential functions of the job. Also, the ADA and MHRA can allow a worker to request extended leaves to allow for recovery and rehabilitation from Long COVID.

What are the different kinds of Long COVID symptoms that may affect working?

Many people are still experiencing Long COVID in their daily lives and in their work.  This post will share a working definition of Long COVID and will review some of the known types of its symptoms that may limit a person’s ability to work.

Definition

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has defined Long COVID as “a chronic condition that occurs after SARS-CoV-2 infection and is present for at least 3 months. Long COVID includes a wide range of symptoms or conditions that may improve, worsen, or be ongoing.”

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) explains:

Long COVID refers to infection-associated chronic conditions that can happen after having COVID-19. Many symptoms have been reported, but some of the most common include fatigue, brain fog, extreme tiredness after activity, headaches, muscle pain, change in taste or smell, and shortness of breath. Some people with Long COVID have mild to moderate symptoms that gradually get better after a few months. Others have more severe or even debilitating symptoms that can last for several months or years.

Long Covid Effects/Symptoms

We are still exploring and learning about the different kinds of symptoms that occur in Long COVID.  Somone may experience one or many symptoms and the severity and duration of the symptoms can vary from person to person.  The longer and more severe these symptoms persist, the more likely they are to impact a person’s ability to work.

Here are some categories of symptoms along with some research based reports that explore their connections with Long COVID.

Long COVID may trigger the return of prior viruses and their symptoms.  Also, Long COVID can cause an overreaction of the immune system.  The symptoms and overreaction may limit a person’s ability to work.  See studies and reports here:

Long COVID may negatively impact Brain Functioning.  A common symptom of limited brain function is so called “brain fog” or problems with memory, attention, processing and similar issues, all of which can impact working.  See studies and reports here:

Long COVID has been reported to cause vision problems.  Vison problems can limit a person’s ability to work and to get to work.  See studies and reports here:

A common symptom of Long COVID is Fatigue/Endurance.  People with lower endurance may not be able to work as long, as efficiently, or effectively.  See studies and reports here:

Occupation and Long COVID

Long COVID can impact all people.  However, a growing body of research shows that workers in some occupations are more likely to have Long COVID.   In broad terms, as might be expected due to frequency and type of an occupation’s interaction and responsibilities to other people, workers in healthcare, protective services, bartenders, and personal care/appearance workers had higher prevalences of Long COVID than other occupations.  Long COVID by Occupation.  Healthcare workers in particular had higher rates of COVID-19 and Long COVID.  Covid-19 and Long Covid in healthcare workers and they may experience Long COVID for a significant duration. Long COVID’s lasting impact on healthcare workers.  Also, interestingly, night shift workers (and those who have chronic insomnia) have a much greater risk of Long COVID.  Night Shift Work Nearly Triples Long-COVID Risk

 

If you or someone you know are in one of these occupations and have Long COVID, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA) can afford protections in the form of reasonable accommodations (through an interactive process with the employer) to determine how the worker can stay on the job and perform the essential functions of the job.  Extended leaves to for recovery and rehabilitation from Long COVID may also be possible.

Statewide Roadmap – Long COVID and Post-Viral Conditions

Long COVID and other post-viral chronic conditions continue to impact many Minnesotans and people worldwide in their ability to work, go to school, enjoy daily activities, and take care of themselves and others. (For data tracking, see Surveillance and Data Analytics from the CDC). The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) posted its Statewide Roadmap to Address Long COVID and Post-Viral Chronic Conditions in May 2026 and it is an important resource for Minnesotans, especially those who have disabilities and experience Long COVID and other Post Viral Chronic Conditions.  Check out the Roadmap and share it with others!

This Roadmap was created by MDH, individuals with lived experience with Post COVID and other Post Viral Chronic Condition, community representatives (including MCIL), and many others. The Roadmap recognizes the effects of “socioeconomic and structural inequities” and that the “inequities contribute to stigma, bias, and poor outcomes, and require practical recommendations grounded in social and disability justice.”

These lasting symptoms can prevent people from working, attending school, and taking care of themselves or their families, leading to profound emotional, physical, and financial impacts on people with post-viral IACCs and those close to them. It is important to have the Roadmap’s approach and resources. Further, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Minnesota Human Rights Act, Section 504 and the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) have important rights and protections and you can contact Dan Stewart, dans@mcil-mn.org, at MCIL with questions about these important laws.

Long COVID and Employment Presentation

Presented by Kate Murray and Cindy Tarshish, the presentation Long COVID, the ADA, and Employment is available in audio and PDF formats:

Audio (embedded in webpage)

PDF Slideshow

Information on Long COVID and Post Viral Chronic Conditions

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has a comprehensive set of information and resources on Long Covid and Post Viral Chronic Conditions available on their website.

The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has a guide on living with Long COVID.

News and Resources

“Six years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of Americans have suffered long-term symptoms of the virus.  But exactly how many people developed long COVID — defined as when symptoms last at least three months — is hard to pin down. Scientists are still trying to understand how the disease works, and doctors don’t always know how to recognize it.”

“DelValle’s fight for long-term disability is one of dozens of court battles by workers with long Covid, a new test of a system that lawyers and academics say is stacked against them. The complex, yearslong process passes judgment on enrollees from afar and is filled with conflicts of interest that benefit the insurer, according to court opinions, plaintiffs’ complaints, and interviews with lawyers and academics.”