"The groundwork of all happiness is health." - Leigh Hunt

Vaccinated people have as much as 58% lower risk of developing long COVID

February 21, 2024 – People who were vaccinated against COVID-19 were significantly less prone to develop long COVID within the early years of the pandemic, in response to a brand new study from Michigan.

The Results were published within the magazine this week Annals of Epidemiology. Researchers analyzed data from 4,695 adults in Michigan, in search of individuals who reported COVID symptoms greater than 30 or greater than 90 days after infection. They then examined whether people had accomplished a full series of initial vaccinations or not. Vaccinated people were 58% less prone to have symptoms lasting at the least 30 days than unvaccinated people, and were 43% less prone to have symptoms lasting 90 days or longer.

The researchers conducted their study because previous estimates of how much a vaccination protects against long COVID vary based on different research methods, comparable to: B. mixed definitions of long-COVID or the inclusion of a limited group of individuals within the unvaccinated comparison group, varied greatly. The researchers wrote that their study provided greater certainty since the individuals who took part more fully represented the final population. All people within the study had infections with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID) confirmed by laboratory testing between March 2020 and May 2022.

Among vaccinated and unvaccinated people combined, 32% of those infected reported having symptoms for at the least 30 days, and nearly 18% reported having symptoms for 90 days or longer, a study found Summary the study published by the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy on the University of Minnesota. The researchers compared vaccinated and unvaccinated people in a wide range of ways and consistently showed a difference of at the least 40% in long COVID.

According to a CDC report last week, in 2022, 6.9% of adults within the U.S. self-reported that they’d long COVID, which researchers defined as symptoms that lasted at the least three months after they tested positive or had been diagnosed by a physician. That report also showed that the states with the very best rates of long-COVID in 2022 were Alabama, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wyoming. West Virginia had the very best rate of self-reported long COVID at 10.6% of adults.

People with long COVID could have a number of of those 20 symptomsThese include fatigue, fever, and problems that worsen after physical or mental exertion. Other long-term signs include respiratory and heart problems, considering problems, digestive problems, joint or muscle pain, skin rashes, or changes within the menstrual cycle. The problems will be so severe that individuals qualify for disability status.

About 8 in 10 U.S. adults have received the primary round of COVID vaccinations, but only 22% of individuals reported receiving the newest version, which became available in fall 2023.

The authors of the Michigan study wrote that “COVID-19 vaccination may be an important tool to reduce the burden of long COVID.”