Vaccination Reduces Chance of Getting Long COVID, Studies Say

The review includes data from 15 UK and international studies, seven of which examine whether vaccination against COVID-19 before exposure protects against developing long-term COVID, and seven studies examining the effect of vaccination on people who have already had long-term COVID. One study examined both. In six studies, those who received one or two doses of the vaccine before contracting coronavirus were less likely to develop long-term COVID symptoms after infection. In two studies, fully vaccinated people were less likely than unvaccinated people to develop medium or long-term symptoms such as fatigue, headache, weakness in the arms and legs, persistent muscle pain, hair loss, dizziness, shortness of breath, loss of consciousness. odor or scarring of the lungs.

In addition, three studies comparing long-term COVID symptoms before and after vaccination found that most people reported an improvement in symptoms after vaccination, either immediately or within a few weeks. Worsening of symptoms after vaccination has been reported in several cases.

“The term ‘long-term COVID’ covers a wide range of post-COVID conditions, so we don’t yet fully understand all the processes involved,” said Deborah Dunn-Walters, chair of the British Society of Immunology’s COVID-19 task force. Science Media Center.

“The immune system is thought to play a role in the development of symptoms in a significant number of cases, likely as a result of an overreactive and/or slightly misdirected immune response during acute COVID infection,” she said.