Study puts understanding of long COVID and vaccination into question

A brand new research from researchers on the Mayo Clinic means that being vaccinated in opposition to COVID-19 does little to stop lengthy COVID.

The findings contradict what has turn out to be standard knowledge within the final 3 years—that vaccines supply an opportunity to considerably cut back the danger of lengthy COVID, or new or persistent signs 3 months or extra after an infection, most definitely by decreasing the severity of an infection. 

Melanie Swift, MD, MPH, was the lead writer of the research, which was printed in Open Discussion board Infectious Ailments. She mentioned regardless of the present pondering that vaccines cut back the danger of growing lengthy COVID, she wasn’t stunned she discovered no affiliation. 

“A whole lot of the early literature on lengthy COVID was actually defining lengthy COVID by way of affected person surveys,“ Swift informed CIDRAP Information. Swift’s research as an alternative relied on individuals having obtained a long-COVID analysis from a doctor after having a documented case of post-vaccination COVID-19 an infection. 

6.9% developed lengthy COVID

The research was based mostly on the digital data of 41,652 folks aged 5 years or older with SARS-CoV-2–optimistic polymerase chain response (PCR) exams between February 2021 and December 2022 and a analysis of lengthy COVID 30 days to six months following an infection.

The typical age of sufferers was 41 years, 55.2% had been feminine, and 90.7% had been White. On the time of preliminary an infection, 9,744 (23.4 %) had been vaccinated with two doses of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, and seven,658 (18.4 %) had obtained greater than two mRNA doses.

A complete of 8.2% of sufferers required hospitalization for COVID-19, and most infections occurred in the course of the Delta and Omicron eras (39.8% and 47.1%, respectively).

In whole, 6.9% of sufferers had been identified as having lengthy COVID, with no noticed distinction between unvaccinated sufferers, these vaccinated with two doses of an mRNA vaccine, and people with greater than two doses.

If you aren’t getting COVID, you aren’t getting lengthy COVID.

Lengthy COVID was related to older age, feminine intercourse, and hospitalization for the preliminary an infection. It was inversely related to an infection in the course of the Omicron interval, the authors wrote.

Swift mentioned that vaccines nonetheless play a task in stopping lengthy COVID. “If you aren’t getting COVID, you aren’t getting lengthy COVID,“ she mentioned. “It stays crucial medical instruments in our arsenal by advantage of not getting COVID and extreme COVID, however we will’t cease there and say ‘when you had been vaccinated, you don’t have to fret about lengthy COVID.’ “

Confounding elements and well being behaviors

Clifford Rosen, MD, a senior scientist on the MaineHealth Institute for Analysis, has reviewed research on lengthy COVID and vaccines. He mentioned the present research could also be skewed due to its pattern measurement. 

“It is a small cohort that’s comparatively homogeneous and certain has totally different healthcare habits than different EHR [electronic health record] research,“ Rosen mentioned. As a substitute, he mentioned lengthy COVID research achieved based mostly on Veterans Affairs (VA) information supply a extra heterogenous cohort. 

Ziyad Al-Aly, MD, chief of analysis and growth on the VA St Louis Well being Care System and a scientific epidemiologist at Washington College, has been behind most VA research on lengthy COVID. 

He simply printed a evaluation of proof displaying that vaccination reduces the danger of lengthy COVID. Whereas the impact measurement varies by 15% to 70%, there’s an estimated common discount of 40% to 50%, nearly universally.

He mentioned he discovered Swift’s research shocking and mentioned it possible suffers from one principal confounding issue: The kind of affected person who seeks out a long-COVID analysis possible makes use of healthcare and is vaccinated.

Al-Aly mentioned vaccination might assist cut back some clusters of long-COVID signs higher than others. For instance, his work has proven a “profound impact in pulmonary signs of COVID, and fewer on metabolic results on lengthy COVID.”

Although extra analysis wants be achieved on lengthy COVID and vaccination, Al-Aly stays assured that vaccines play an necessary function in decreasing the danger of lengthy COVID.