The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has concluded that persistent COVID is less likely to affect vaccinated people than unvaccinated people.
The UKHSA noted that people who received two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca or Moderna vaccine, or one dose of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine, were about half as likely to develop symptoms of Persistent COVID compared to unvaccinated.
“These studies add to the potential benefits of receiving a full dose of the COVID-19 vaccine,” said Dr Mary Ramsay, UKHSA’s head of immunisation. “Vaccination is the best way to protect yourself from severe symptoms when you get infected and can also help reduce the long-term impact,” she added.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has lifted COVID-19 restrictions in England as booster vaccinations and the lesser severity of the omicron variant weaken the relationship between cases and death.
However, the UK continues to see an average of around 50,000 cases a day, and mild cases of COVID-19 can continue to lead to debilitating persistent COVID and associated symptoms of fatigue, impaired memory and brain fog.
The UKHSA states that an estimated 2% of the British population have reported symptoms of persistent COVID, the most common being fatigue, shortness of breath, and muscle or joint pain.
Of the four studies that compared symptoms of long-standing COVID before and after vaccination, three suggested that more people reported improvement in symptoms of persistent COVID rather than worsening after vaccination.
Three other studies found that symptoms of prolonged COVID improved in those who were vaccinated, compared with those who remained unvaccinated.
Source: Gestion
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