Persons who have been completely vaccinated against Covid-19 seem to get a substantially reduced risk of acquiring long-term COVID-19 compared to unvaccinated people, according to research published Wednesday.
The study is one of the first to show how vaccination reduces the likelihood of extended COVID even in the case of breakthrough infections. Studies have extensively said that vaccinations would lower the number of instances of long COVID-19 by completely avoiding numerous infections. However, it was unclear what the danger would be for those who became sick after immunization.
“We found that the odds of having symptoms for 28 days or more after post-vaccination infection were approximately halved by having two vaccine doses. This result suggests that the risk of long Covid is reduced in individuals who have received double vaccination when additionally considering the already documented reduced risk of infection overall,” the study reads.
The long Covid results stemmed from broader studies into breakthrough infections, such as determining which categories of individuals were at increased risk of such instances. The research was based on information provided by vast numbers of people in the U.K. who accessed the Covid Symptom Study mobile application.
The United Kingdom has approved three vaccinations; all of these are two-dose schemes produced by Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Oxford-AstraZeneca. The AstraZeneca injection has not been approved yet by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; they did authorize a vaccine from Johnson & Johnson, which only has one shot.
What is long COVID?
Long COVID refers to the long-lasting effect the virus has on some patients. People can sometimes have symptoms of persistent cough for more than 12 weeks after infection – severe or mild – which can’t be explained by another cause. The list of symptoms for long COVID includes breathlessness, chest discomfort or tightness, severe exhaustion, palpitations, memory and attention issues, smell or taste changes.
