Germany paying more long Covid pensions for reduced earning ability

More than 1,000 people suffering from the effects of long Covid in Germany have had pensions approved for reduced earning capacity, according to a report on Thursday, reported dpa.

The Rheinische Post newspaper quoted a pension insurance spokeswoman saying that Germany's pension insurance has approved 1,088 claims for reductions in earning capacity by people affected by long Covid, in 2022.

In 2021, there were 89 reduced earning capacity pensions in connection with coronavirus, with 13 due to long Covid.

On Wednesday, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said it was likely that more support services for people with long-term impairments after Covid-19 infections would be needed in future.

He presented a long Covid programme which provides for an information portal and €40 million ($44 million) in research funding. That was, however, significantly less then the €100 million mentioned earlier this year.

Long Covid, or post Covid, are terms that describe symptoms occurring after a Covid-19 infection that persist for extended periods or reappear later and can be severe.

The World Health Organization (WHO) describes long Covid as "the continuation or development of new symptoms 3 months after the initial SARS-CoV-2 infection, with these symptoms lasting for at least 2 months with no other explanation."

At the end of last year, almost 335,000 people were being treated for post Covid in doctors' practices, according to Germany's Central Institute for Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, based on accounting data.

According to WHO, "studies show that around 10-20% of people infected by SARS-CoV-2 may go on to develop symptoms that can be diagnosed as long COVID."