Can Omicron cause long covids?I have an unanswered question here

According to scientists, it’s premature to know, but mild early illness may not indicate a reduced risk.

Many public health authorities are fascinated by the early evidence of an infection from. Omicron Variants tend to cause less severe illnesses than other versions coronavirus. But another important question arises. A population of physical, neurological, and cognitive symptoms that can last for months and impair people’s daily lives, including breakthrough cases of vaccinated people. Is it possible to bring a long Covid?

It’s too early for scientists to know much about the relationship between Omicron, vaccination, and the long Covid. Early studies of the pandemic provide no definitive clues. This is a sketch of what scientists have learned and many questions that have not yet been answered.

can Omicron Does it cause a long covid?

because Omicron The variant was first identified in late November, but it is premature to say how long the symptoms of the infection will last. Also, as with previous versions of the virus, it is unclear if problems such as brain fog or extreme fatigue may occur after the infection has been resolved.

Recent reports indicate that Omicron can cause early-stage illnesses that are less severe than other variants, but the basic symptoms of Omicron infection are similar to those of other variants. The long-term effects may be similar.

Mild early illness does not necessarily mean that Omicron is unlikely to lead to long covids, and doctors, researchers, and patient-led groups warn.Studies from the early waves of the pandemic have shown that many people with mild or asymptomatic early reactions coronavirus The infection continued and developed a long covid that lasted for months.

Can the vaccine prevent long covids?

perhaps.

Vaccines primarily prevent people from becoming seriously ill or dying. coronavirus infection. In some previous variants, the vaccine seemed to reduce the chances of infection itself — and, of course, non-infection is the best way to avoid long Covids. However, vaccines are not very effective in preventing Omicron infections, and breakthrough infections with this new mutant are much more common.

Studies examining vaccinated people and long covids have so far focused primarily on data collected prior to the emergence of delta variants. And the research results are mixed.

One large study, published in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases, was based on reports to the phone app by more than 1.2 million UK adults who received at least one dose. Coronavirus vaccine Between December 2020 and July 2021. We found that people who received two vaccinations and had a breakthrough infection were about half as likely to report symptoms that lasted at least 28 days after infection. Approximately 5% of patients with breakthrough infections reported such prolonged symptoms, compared with 11% of unvaccinated controls.

Another large study, published without peer review, found similarly promising results. Created by the Covid Patient Recovery Alliance, a collaboration between healthcare data company Arcadia and leaders with government and private sector health expertise, the study was about 240,000 infected with the coronavirus by May 2021. We analyzed the records of human patients.

We found that people who received at least one Covid vaccine before infection were 7-10 times less likely to report two or more symptoms of long Covid after 12-20 weeks. The study, led by Arcadia Data Science Director Michael Simon and the company’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Richard Parker, found that those who were first vaccinated after being infected with the coronavirus could develop longer covids. People who have also been found to be less sexual, and the sooner they are vaccinated after infection, the lower the risk of long-term symptoms.

However, the results of another study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, were more disappointing about the vaccine’s ability to prevent long covids. This study was conducted by a British researcher who analyzed electronic medical records of patients in the United States. We compared about 10,000 people vaccinated with the Covid vaccine to the same number of people who were not vaccinated with the coronavirus but were vaccinated against the flu. This could be considered hesitant about the vaccine, or according to researchers, there was generally little healthy behavior.

The study is Coronavirus vaccine Prior to infection, it did not reduce the risk of most symptoms of long Covid. There were some suggestions from the data that vaccinated people may be at lower risk of long-term problems such as abnormal breathing and cognitive symptoms, but those results are not statistically definitive. There was no.

The authors said that because the data depend on electronic medical records, they may have investigated only those with the most severe symptoms, rather than the widespread patients who did not seek treatment for their symptoms.

Is the vaccine useful if I already have a long Covid?

When the vaccine was first deployed, some patients with long covids had brain fog, arthralgia, and shortness of breath, even before the emergence of more contagious delta variants that preceded the infectious omicron variants. They were vaccinated, who had found that symptoms such as fatigue had improved. Still, many have shown no difference in symptoms after vaccination, and only a few say they feel sick.

The first dose of the vaccine reduced the chances of reporting long Covid symptoms by 13% in people aged 18-69 years who reported symptoms between February and September 2021, according to a study by the Office for National Statistics. .. Studies show that the second dose reduced odds by an additional 9%.

Some researchers say it may make scientific sense that the vaccine can help some people with long covids.

According to experts, the cause of long Covid is still unknown, and different symptoms may have different underlying causes for each patient. Some major theories suggest that this condition may be related to the remains of the virus or its genetic material that remains after the initial infection has subsided, or inflammation or blood circulation problems caused by an excessive immune response that cannot be shut down. It has sex.

Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale University, said that if the antibodies produced by the vaccine eliminate their debris, the vaccine may provide permanent relief to those whose symptoms are caused by traces of the virus. I did. However, in people whose symptoms can be caused by a post-viral reaction that resembles an autoimmune disease, the vaccine is only temporary and may cause problems such as fatigue to recur, she said. Stated.