Vaccines provide modest protection against long COVIDs, new research discovers

About this study published today Nature medicineResearchers have analyzed the medical records of more than 13 million veterans stored in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) database.

They analyzed data from 113,474 unvaccinated COVID-19 patients and approximately 34,000 fully vaccinated patients who experienced a breakthrough infection with COVID-19 from January 1st to October 31st, 2021. Did.

Patients were considered fully vaccinated if they received two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Although the patients were predominantly older Caucasian men, the researchers also analyzed data that included nearly 1.5 million women and adults of all ages and races.

The team investigated how people with breakthrough infections behave six months after their diagnosis.

Researchers say that vaccinated people 15 percent It is less likely to develop COVID longer than unvaccinated people.

The results of the study also showed that among immunocompromised people vaccinated against breakthrough infections, the risk of long COVID was 17 percent higher than those who were previously healthy and vaccinated. rice field.

Researchers also compared long-term health with nearly 6 million pre-pandemic controls who had never been infected with COVID-19.

They found that people with breakthrough infections were at significantly higher risk of death, major organ disease, and neurological conditions.

Also, those vaccinated with breakthrough infections had a 2.5-fold higher risk of death than those hospitalized with influenza.

Patients hospitalized for breakthrough infections also had a 27% increased risk of prolonged COVID 30 days after diagnosis.

This study was conducted before the rise of Omicron, which affected a significant number of Americans. In addition, new COVID-19 antivirals, including Pfizer’s Paxrovid, were implemented before widespread availability. Therefore, current findings on the long COVID risk of vaccinated people may differ.

First author Zyard AlaryMD, a clinical epidemiologist at the University of Washington, told Healthline that the research team has two goals.

• To determine if a person with a breakthrough infection may have this condition

• Find out if and to what extent vaccination can reduce long-term COVID risk

“In essence, we wanted to know if the vaccine could protect us from long COVIDs and how much protection the vaccination would provide,” he said.

Asked about the findings, Al-Aly expressed his disappointment.

“We expected the vaccine to be prophylactic,” he said. “But unfortunately, the results showed that it wasn’t.”

Al-Aly said the findings suggest that the vaccine is an “incomplete shield.”

“They only have a modest amount of protection from long COVIDs,” he explained. “And relying on them as the only layer of protection is not optimal.”

According to Al-Aly, urgent research is needed to develop an “additional protective layer” like other types of vaccines and medicines that may help mitigate the long-term effects of COVID. ..

according to Robert RahitaMD, Director of the Institute for Autoimmune and Rheumatoid Arthritis in St. Joseph Health, and “Immunity strong“Breakthrough infection means that the virus can evade an immune response.

“The virus is very resilient and durable,” he said. “They are always up-mutating and down-mutating.”

Lahita emphasized that the COVID vaccine provides sufficient adaptive immunity to protect most people from long-term, severe infections.

“The innate immune response is found in everyone, but it also depends on the individual,” he said.

Another recent study We have discovered that the neurological effects of long COVIDs can last for more than a year.

A small study of 52 people found that 85% of patients with mild COVID reported at least 4 persistent neurological problems at least 6 weeks after acute infection. About 80% of the participants were vaccinated.

They reported that symptoms lasted an average of 15 months and most people saw improvements in cognitive function and malaise, but the symptoms did not completely resolve and continued to affect quality of life.

“Long COVID has a variety of symptoms, and the symptoms vary from person to person,” he said. Natalia Cobalbias-EckartMD, Medical Director of Inpatient Rehabilitation and Post-COVID Rehabilitation Programs at Providence St. Jude Medical Center in Orange County, CA.

She said the most common symptoms were fatigue, headaches, difficulty thinking and concentrating, shortness of breath, anxiety, and depression.

Covarrubias-Eckardt said there are ways to treat long COVID symptoms and most people will recover.

“For example, teach pacing to patients with fatigue and gradually increase their tolerance to activity,” she explained. “There are therapists trained in cognitive recovery with a variety of exercises and supportive treatments for those who have difficulty thinking and concentrating.”

Covarrubias-Eckardt said there is no specific drug to treat it at this time.

However, she pointed out that it is important to make sure that patients with ongoing symptoms do not have another diagnosis causing their symptoms.

According to a new study, vaccinated people who have experienced a mild breakthrough infection may experience a long COVID.

According to experts, vaccination provides strong protection for most people, but the virus challenges this with constant change.