HHS & DOJ Guidance on “Long COVID” as a Disability

image of covid-19 virusesThe U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently issued guidance on “long COVID” as a disability.  Long COVID encompasses a wide range of new, returning, or ongoing health problems that people experience four or more weeks after first being infected.  HHS and DOJ guidance states that long COVID can be a disability under Title II (public services) and Title III (public accommodations) of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act if a “person’s condition or any of its symptoms is a ‘physical or mental impairment that ‘substantially limits’ one or more major life activities.”  People whose long COVID qualifies as a disability are entitled to the same protections from discrimination as any other person with a disability under the ADA, Section 504, and Section 1557.  For more information, see the HHS Office for Civil Rights Civil Rights & COVID-19 page and relevant resources on the DOJ Civil Rights Division ADA Emergency Preparedness & Response page.