Unveiling the Financial Burden: Long Covid and ME/CFS Post-Pandemic
Persistent Health Impact of Long Covid and ME/CFS: The Lasting Financial and Health Burden Post-Pandemic - Persistent Health Issues After Covid-19 and ME/CFS: The Ongoing Financial Impact of the Pandemic
Penned by Nicole SimonApprox. reading time: 3 minutes
Money talks, and the chatter of diseases is often revealing. Yet, it's a delicate matter to judge diseases solely by their costs, as it does them a disservice. However, the numbers can shed an unexpected light on Long Covid and ME/CFS—conditions that remain shrouded in mystery and misunderstanding.
The Corona pandemic might have receded, but the costs associated with these conditions still loom large, challenging those affected, society, and the economy. Researchers from the ME/CFS Research Foundation and Risklayer GmbH have crunched the numbers for the first time, offering a glimpse into the financial challenges these conditions present. By 2024, Long Covid and ME/CFS are estimated to have cost Germany over 63 billion euros—around 1.5% of its GDP. Calculating across the years 2020 to 2024, these total costs are projected to reach approximately 254 billion euros. For comparison, the annual health expenditure in Germany in 2024 was 538 billion euros.
Long Covid and ME/CFS: The Burden Beyond the Balance Sheet
But what is the essence of cost? Jörg Heydecke, Managing Director of the ME/CFS Research Foundation and co-author of the study, explains, "It's not just about medical expenses like tests or medication. It's also about the lost workforce and the money that can't be spent due to missing income. Costs arise when those affected have to deal with insurance companies or when reports are written, or pension claims are checked."
Despite the pandemic officially being over, these figures are unlikely to fade away soon—the analysts anticipate that the financial burdens will persist or even intensify in the coming years. This is partly due to new cases still being reported and the transformation of the pandemic into an endemic in many parts, with recurrent outbreaks in a society with increased immunity. Other infections are also causing new ME/CFS cases.
34,000 New ME/CFS Cases Forecasted
Estimates suggest that in Germany, over 1.52 million people are dealing with Long Covid or ME/CFS. While active Long Covid cases appear to have decreased since 2022, ME/CFS cases continue to rise. By 2028, these cases could increase by approximately 34,000.
The aim of the study, says Heydecke, is to stimulate a global debate on ME/CFS Awareness Day. With an estimated cost of 63 billion euros, the current annual public funding for diagnostic and therapeutic research of around 15 to 20 million euros seems hardly justifiable, given the medical and economic implications.
A Mounting Challenge: ME/CFS and Long Covid
ME/CFS, recognized by the WHO since 1969, is still a neglected disease in the medical community. Affected individuals suffer from fatigue, low resilience, cognitive impairments, physical pain, circulatory problems, sensory sensitivity, and autonomic and immune system disturbances. Long Covid, strictly speaking, refers to symptoms persisting four weeks after a coronavirus infection, but in everyday language, all lasting symptoms after a COVID-19 infection are grouped under this term.
These figures offer a stark reminder of the medical, social, and economic challenges presented by Long Covid and ME/CFS, not just for those affected but for society as a whole. "Most ME/CFS and Long Covid patients are hidden from society. They don't appear visibly ill, they don't die in large numbers or infect others. These people are often at home, suffering. Almost three-quarters of ME/CFS patients can no longer work, and about 25 percent are completely bedridden. Some of them, after many years of sickness, even seek assisted suicide," says Heydecke.
Research indicates that approximately 3.5% of Long Covid patients develop ME/CFS within the first year. Among those who still have Long Covid after a year, about 20% develop ME/CFS. Before the pandemic, an estimated 350,000 cases of ME/CFS were known to exist. Currently, researchers estimate over 650,000 cases.
"Recent research results" states Carmen Scheibenbogen, a professor of immunology at Berlin's Charité and one of the leading experts on Long Covid and ME/CFS, "already show promising therapeutic successes and prospects." To clinically test these therapies, she urgently calls for more financial support, as they "could probably offer real healing prospects for some of the affected in a few years."
Head over to this article to learn how affected individuals are coping with these diseases and what has helped some in their struggle.
- The financial burden of Long Covid and ME/CFS post-pandemic is a significant concern, as these conditions are estimated to cost Germany over 63 billion euros by 2024, equating to about 1.5% of its GDP.
- The total costs of Long Covid and ME/CFS between 2020 and 2024 are projected to reach approximately 254 billion euros.
- Jörg Heydecke, Managing Director of the ME/CFS Research Foundation, explains that costs associated with these conditions extend beyond medical expenses like tests and medication.
- Lost workforce, missed income, interactions with insurance companies, and paperwork also contribute to the costs of these conditions.
- The analysts anticipate that the financial burdens of Long Covid and ME/CFS will persist or even intensify in the coming years.
- New cases of Long Covid and other infections triggering ME/CFS are still being reported, contributing to the persistence of these financial burdens.
- By 2028, it's estimated that there could be approximately 34,000 new ME/CFS cases in Germany.
- Over 1.52 million people in Germany are currently dealing with Long Covid or ME/CFS, with active Long Covid cases decreasing since 2022 but ME/CFS cases still rising.
- The study aims to stimulate a global debate on ME/CFS Awareness Day, calling into question the current annual public funding of around 15 to 20 million euros for diagnostic and therapeutic research.
- ME/CFS, recognized by the WHO since 1969, is a neglected disease in the medical community.
- Affected individuals suffer from fatigue, low resilience, cognitive impairments, physical pain, circulatory problems, sensory sensitivity, and autonomic and immune system disturbances.
- Long Covid, strictly speaking, refers to symptoms persisting four weeks after a coronavirus infection, but in everyday language, all lasting symptoms after a COVID-19 infection are grouped under this term.
- Approximately 3.5% of Long Covid patients develop ME/CFS within the first year, and about 20% develop ME/CFS if they still have Long Covid after a year.
- Before the pandemic, an estimated 350,000 cases of ME/CFS were known to exist, but now researchers estimate over 650,000 cases.
- Research indicates promising therapeutic successes and prospects for those dealing with Long Covid and ME/CFS.
- Carmen Scheibenbogen, a professor of immunology at Berlin's Charité and a leading expert on Long Covid and ME/CFS, calls for more financial support to clinically test these therapies.
- She believes these therapies could offer real healing prospects for some of the affected in a few years.
- The financial burden of Long Covid and ME/CFS highlights the need for increased awareness, research, and support for these conditions.
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