so it s this constant depletion, this constant exhaustion and this constant feeling that you re just not yourself. new yorker melissa mansfield got covid in march 2022. eight months later, she s still struggling with the virus. there s so much fear. like, i didn t know, is this my life forever? ijust had to stop everything that i love in my life! melissa worked part time in marketing to fund her passion projects dance and film making. she wants to work again, but can t. there s definitely been times where i ve been too sick, like, ijust know that i can t work. because it s notjust physical exertion it s mental exertion, it s emotional exertion. melissa is one of up to four million americans out of work due to long covid. to put a dollar figure on that, the annual cost of lost wages is estimated to be as high as $230 billion. americans with long covid have had to cut back hours, switch to remote work, or drop out altogether