On Monday, the White House took steps to offer more support to people suffering from "long COVID."
"Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC)," more commonly referred to as "long COVID," occurs when a person recovers from COVID-19 but continues to experience lingering symptoms for months afterward.
According to Harvard, "tens of thousands" of people in the U.S. are experiencing "long haul" symptoms of COVID-19, ranging from the loss of taste or smell to difficulty concentrating and chronic shortness of breath.
On Monday, President Joe Biden announced during a celebration of the 31st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act that his administration would take steps to ensure that some COVID long-haulers would receive additional support from the federal government.
According to a fact sheet from the White House, the Office of Civil Rights has released guidance saying that some experiencing "long COVID" may be suffering from a protected disability.
The guidance released by the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services indicates that a long COVID case can be considered a disability when "any of its symptoms is a 'physical or mental' impairment that 'substantially limits' one or more major life activities."
Click here to read more about how the Office of Civil Rights defines a long COVID disability.
The White House also released several resource guides for those dealing with long COVID. The Administration for Community Living offered guidance for long COVID sufferers who now need assistance to live in their own home, the Office of Disability Employment Policy those who need help with workplace accommodations for those with long COVID, and the Department of Education offered guidance for students who are still suffering COVID symptoms.