Social Security’s listings of impairments are a guide to medically qualifying for Social Security disability benefits. The listings have all different sorts of diagnosed conditions and impairments and what limitations must be present to be eligible for benefits. Since COVID-19 began showing up in the United States at the beginning of 2020 it changed our lives ever since and now more than 500,000 Americans have died from the virus, but what about the people who were infected with the virus and now are experiencing long-lasting effects that make work impossible?
Most people who were infected with the virus recover fairly well, but a portion of the people who were infected with the virus are experiencing debilitating impairments even though the virus has long passed. Many medical experts believe those impairments are related to having the virus, but because the virus is so new no one really knows how impactful these impairments can be, but Social Security should be taking notice. As this story from National Public Radio shows there are many people who have not recovered from the virus even months after testing positive and have been unable to work.
To qualify for Social Security disability benefits you must prove that an impairment you have has or will keep you from working at a full-time level for at least 12 consecutive months. This makes it difficult for Social Security to make determinations on these types of claims because the virus did not become widespread until March of 2020 when partial shutdowns occurred, and it has not even been a year since then. One thing is clear, a portion of people who have had the virus suffered long-term impacts that prevent them from working and it is time Social Security considers adding a listing for COVID-19, or at the very least to begin studying the issue.
