Long Covid has become an increasingly important concern as the Pandemic enters its third year. Many people are wondering if getting a Covid shot can reduce their long-term symptoms.
The jury is still out, but a growing number of studies suggest that getting a Covid vaccine can reduce the risk of long-term symptoms.
The United Kingdom's Health Security Agency analyzed eight studies that had been published on the topic. It was reported that six of the studies found that people who werevaccinated were less likely to develop long Covid than unvaccinated people. Two studies found that vaccination did not reduce the chances of long Covid.
Some study results suggest substantial protection, while others show only a slight benefit.
A large study of electronic records of patients in the U.S. Veterans Health Administration found that unvaccinated patients had a 13 percent lower risk of having symptoms six months later.
Two studies found a bigger effect. One study of about 1.2 million people, based on patients' reports via a phone app, found a 50 percent lower risk of symptoms among vaccine patients. The one that has not been peer-reviewed found a 41 percent lower risk based on a survey of 6,000 patients.
The Covid Patient Recovery Alliance, a collaboration of leaders with health expertise in government and the private sector, found a larger benefit in a study of U.S. patients. The study, which has not been peer-reviewed, analyzed records of about 240,000 patients with the coronaviruses by May 2021, and found that those who had received even one dose of a Covid vaccine before their infection were one-seventh to one-tenth as likely to report two or The study found that people who received their first vaccine dose after contracting the coronaviruses were less likely to develop long Covid than people who remained unvaccinated.
A study in Israel that has not been peer-reviewed found that people who received two doses of vaccine had a lower risk of long-term symptoms. The study said that they were not more likely to report symptoms like headaches, muscle pain and other issues than people who had never gotten Covid. The authors said they couldn't confirm if the patients had gotten the vaccine before or after they got Covid, but they said it was likely that most people who got two doses of vaccine were exposed to the coronaviruses after they had gotten their shots.
In the veterans study, researchers compared about 48,000 patients who were unvaccinated when they got Covid with about 16,000 patients who were vaccine free. One of the authors, Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, chief of research and development at the V.A. St. Louis Health Care System and a clinical epidemiologist, said that it found that vaccine patients were less likely to develop lung problems and blood-clotting difficulties. He said that other symptoms showed little risk reduction from vaccines.
Dr. Al-Aly said that vaccines reduce but do not eliminate the risk of long Covid. It's like going to battle with a shield that doesn't work.
In an effort to limit the spread of the coronaviruses, researchers in the United Kingdom compared the number of people who had received Covid vaccines with the number who had not.
The study found that the vaccine did not reduce the risk of long Covid. The authors wrote that there was some suggestion from the data that the vaccine might lower the risk of long-term symptoms like breathing problems and cognitive issues.
The study might have captured only patients with the most severe symptoms, rather than a wider range of patients who did not seek medical attention for their symptoms, because their data relied on electronic health records.
There are differences in the studies. Some researchers have defined long Covid in different ways, measured the same symptoms or tracked patients for the same length of time. Some studies recorded symptoms that lingered at least 28 days after an illness, while others measured symptoms six months later. The results of studies that rely on patient surveys may be different than those that rely on electronic medical records. Some studies didn't have very diverse populations. Patients in the veterans study were mostly male and older.
The data was published after patients were affected by the Pandemic. It's too early for studies about vaccines and long Covid that include the Omicron variant, even though some recently published data included people who were infectious by the Delta variant. It's too early to evaluate the effect of boosters on Covid.
Yes. Vaccines are very effective at preventing people from getting seriously ill from infections. Studies show that Covid patients are more likely to have long term health issues. The vaccine should reduce the chances of a long-term post-covid case if people are kept out of the hospital.
Many people with long Covid infections had mild or even asymptomatic initial infections, and while some studies suggest vaccines have potential to ease their long-term symptoms, the evidence is not yet conclusive.
It is the best way to prevent long Covid if you get a vaccine.
Different vaccines have different effects on long-term symptoms.
Scientists say that the cause of long Covid is still unclear and that different symptoms might have different underlying causes. Some people think that the condition may be related to the remnants of the virus or its genetic material after the initial infections. Another theory is that the problems are related to inflammation or blood circulation problems caused by an immune response that is unable to shut down.
If the vaccines eliminate the remnants of the virus, they may be able to give lasting relief to people who have symptoms caused by it.
She said that in people with symptoms that may be caused by a post-viral response, vaccines may only help for a short time.
Some patients with long Covid were finding that their symptoms improved after they had gotten vaccine. Many people had no change in their symptoms after they received the vaccine, and a small percentage felt worse.
A study by the Office for National Statistics in the United Kingdom found that a first dose of a vaccine lowered the odds of long Covid symptoms in people ages 18 to 69. The study found that a second dose lowered the odds by 9 percent.
A recent analysis by the U.K. Health Security Agency evaluated a study that looked at whether long Covid affected symptoms. More people with long Covid reported improvement in their symptoms at some point after they were vaccine free. The majority of people said their symptoms were unchanged, even though some people reported worsening of symptoms.
The agency noted that the definition of long Covid varied widely among the studies and that, because all the studies were observational, changes in symptoms could be due to factors other than vaccination.
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