A new US study on long-term COVID-19 can occur even after breakthrough infections in vaccinated people, providing new evidence that older people are at increased risk of long-term effects.
A veteran study published Wednesday showed that about one-third of people with breakthrough infections showed signs of long COVID.
According to another report from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, from the first coronavirus infection to one year later, one in four adults over the age of 65 compared to at least one in five young adults. Had one potential long-term COVID health problem.
A long COVID is one of more than 20 symptoms that lasts, relapses, or first appears at least one month after a coronavirus infection. These can affect all parts of the body, including fatigue, shortness of breath, brain fog, and blood clots.
Coronavirus vaccines that help prevent early infections and serious illnesses provide some protection against long-term COVIDs, but have shown less research than scientists initially wanted. increase.
A veteran study published in Nature Medicine reviewed the medical records of white male veterans, who averaged 60 years old. Of the 13 million veterans, about 3 million had been vaccinated by October last year.
About 1%, or nearly 34,000, developed breakthrough infections. Lead author Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly said the study was done before the emergence of highly contagious Omicron variants at the end of the year, and said the rate of breakthrough infections was likely to increase.
Breakthrough infections and long COVID symptoms were more common among those who received a single dose of Johnson & Johnson compared to a single dose of Moderna or Pfizer vaccine. It’s unclear if you’ve received a booster shot. The first booster wasn’t OK in the US until late September.
Overall, 32% had long COVID symptoms up to 6 months after breakthrough infection. This is compared to 36% of unvaccinated veterans who have been infected and developed long COVIDs.
Al-Aly, a researcher at the University of Washington and the St. Louis Veteran Health System, said vaccination reduced the likelihood of long-term COVID symptoms by “moderate” 15%, but with prolonged respiratory and coagulation problems. The risk has been halved. .Louis. These symptoms included persistent shortness of breath, coughing, and coagulation of veins in the lungs and legs.
Dr. Christine Engrund, an infectious disease expert who runs a center for long-term COVID patients at the Cleveland Clinic, said the Nature Medicine study reflects what she saw at the clinic. The long COVID patients there include those who have been vaccinated and boosted.
“Because we do not have a clear cure for long COVID, everyone is vaccinated and other proven preventive measures such as masking and social distance to prevent COVID, and therefore long COVID infections. It’s important to use, “said Englund.
The CDC report, released on Tuesday, used medical records of approximately 2 million US adults from the start of the pandemic in March 2020 to November last year. They included 353,000 people who had COVID-19. Patients were followed for up to 1 year to determine if they had developed any of the 26 health conditions due to long COVID.
People who had COVID were much more likely to develop at least one of these conditions than other adults who did not have COVID, and the risk was greatest for people over the age of 65. It does not contain vaccination, gender or race information.
Breathing problems and muscle pain were one of the most common conditions.
Certain symptoms, such as stroke, brain fog, kidney failure, and mental health problems, increased the risk for the elderly. The findings are worrisome, according to the authors of the report, as these conditions may accelerate the need for long-term care for the elderly.
They emphasized that regular assessment of all COVID patients is “important to reduce the incidence” of long COVID.
