OREANDA-NEWS  The UK economy may lose 1.5 billion pounds ($1.8 billion) a year due to the so-called "long COVID" afflicting people who had recovered from COVID-19, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said on Wednesday.

"Taking the ONS’s [Office for National Statistics] latest estimate from May 2022 that 1.85 million people aged 17 and above had long COVID, our results imply about 4.4 million lost working hours per week, and 110,000 workers off sick; the loss in earnings would aggregate up to almost 1.5 billion pounds per year," the IFS said in a report.As a result of a decrease in the number of working hours and, therefore, earnings, the UK economy loses on average 1,100 pounds ($1,320) per person a month, the statement added.

In June, the ONS said that about two million UK nationals suffer from long COVID, with seven out of 10 patients noting that the syndrome affects their daily lives. The most common symptom, fatigue, is observed in 55% of those who have recovered, while 32% suffer from shortness of breath, and 23% of cough, and muscle pain.In total, over 23 million COVID-19 cases were reported in the UK during the pandemic, claiming the lives of more than 200,000 people.