A new OECD report was published on 8^th April 2026 called “Addressing the Costs & Care for Long COVID: The Long Shadow of the Pandemic”.¹  

The report calculates that Long COVID could cost OECD & EU countries a total of almost $190 billion(CAD); (almost €116 billion) a year for the next decade²; “comparable to the entire annual health budget of the Netherlands or Spain”!¹ The report doesn’t just look at the health costs of Long COVID but also the economic and social costs to member countries.  The report points out that the “socio-economic impact of Long COVID encompasses absence from education and the workplace, reduced productivity, unemployment and premature exit from the workforce.”¹  Also, that “there is a need to ensure health and social care systems provide an integrated and supportive response for patients living with Long COVID in order to minimise reductions in quality of life for patients and productivity of OECD economies.”¹

There will be a virtual online webinar to discuss the contents of the report on Thursday 23^rd April 2026 at 1530-1630 CEST.  You can register for the webinar here.

This publication is part of the ‘Supporting Long COVID patients: insights and action initiative.  The OECD published another report in 2025 called “The Prevalence & Impact of Long COVID in the Primary Care Population.”

About the OECD^3,4

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an intergovernmental organisation of 38 member countries with high income economies that have high life expectancies, education and per capita income.  It was founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress & world trade.  The member countries describe themselves as committed to democracy and the market economy.

The OECD is a forum and knowledge hub that informs and shapes public policy and policy debates by providing evidence-based analysis and standards, publishing over 500 major reports and around 600 books annually.  It brings various stakeholders such as representatives from governments, business, labour, non-governmental organisations and academia together, setting international criteria for consumer protection, environmental issues, taxation, economics, health and social policy.  It is one of the most respected organisations in the World for the work that it does.

REFERENCES

1. Addressing the Costs & Care for Long COVID: The Long Shadow of the Pandemic
2. Euronews – “Long COVID could cost OECD countries €116 Billion a Year Over the Next Decade.”
3. OECD Website
4. Wikipedia – OECD entry