COVID forces millions of people out of jobs
Cutler calculated that 3.5 million people are unemployed as a result of long-term Covid using Covid-19 case counts and labour force participation rates. This resulted in a five-year lost pay cost of $1 trillion, or around $200 billion annually. The research stated, "Critically, this amount does not represent the full economic burden of long-term care because it does not include aspects such as the poorer productivity of those working while ill, the high expenditures patients bear for medical care, or the lost productivity of caregivers. Cutler calculated that the additional annual costs for medical treatment and reduced quality of life due to extended Covid were $544 billion.