COVID-19 long-haulers struggle to access federal disability benefits – WSB-TV Channel 2

WASHINGTON DC – New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that nearly one in five people who have had COVID-19 still have long-lasting symptoms of COVID-19.

The federal government now classifies long COVID-19 as a disability if it limits at least one major life activity, but getting those benefits isn’t easy.

For more than two years, Ashley Strobridge said her daily reality had changed dramatically with the long COVID-19.

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“If I swallow that, I get to the point where I can’t breathe at all. I’m like, you know, I can breathe a little but it’s so hard,” said Strobridge, who has a long -COVID-19 mail.

Strobridge said she contracted the virus in February 2020 before testing was widely available across the country. But she said she had all the symptoms and even her latest medical records show a history of COVID-19.

She applied for federal long-term disability from COVID-19 in the fall, but was denied.

“It’s ridiculous because I already had other disabilities that I should have qualified for anyway,” she said.

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The Washington News Bureau contacted the US Social Security Administration and a spokesperson said there were approximately 32,000 disability claims filed with the agency that mentioned COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. . The agency said this represents approximately 1% of the total disability claim received during this period.

“Although a case may have a COVID-19 indicator, it does not mean that COVID-19 is the reason for the disability claim or that it affected the outcome of the decision. For this reason, we have no data to share on these reported cases,” a Social Security Administration spokesperson said in a written statement.

Meanwhile, Strobridge wants more federal lawmakers to understand their daily struggle.

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“There will be days when I have tons of energy, like, this is great and then I will suffer when I take advantage of it, and I go out and do things. Then all of a sudden, during the next three days I’m laying there and I can’t do anything, because it’s like it’s taking so much energy,” Strobridge said.

The CDC says the agency is still investigating who gets along with COVID-19 and how those symptoms affect our bodies.

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