Risk of Long Covid in people infected with SARS-CoV-2 after two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine: community-based, matched cohort study

Abstract

Background: It is unclear whether receiving two COVID-19 vaccinations before SARS-CoV-2 infection reduces the risk of developing Long Covid symptoms. We examined whether the likelihood of symptoms 12 weeks after infection differed by vaccination status. Methods: We included COVID-19 Infection Survey participants aged 18-69 years who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 between 26 April 2020 and 30 November 2021; we excluded participants who, before their first test-confirmed infection, had suspected COVID-19 or Long Covid symptoms, or were single-vaccinated. Participants who were double-vaccinated ≥14 days before infection were 1:1 propensity-score matched, based on socio-demographic characteristics and time from infection to follow-up for Long Covid, to those unvaccinated at time of infection. We estimated adjusted odds ratios (aOR) of Long Covid symptoms ≥12 weeks post-infection, comparing double-vaccinated with unvaccinated (reference group) participants. Results: The study sample comprised 3,090 double-vaccinated participants (mean age 49 years, 54% female, 92% white, median follow-up from infection 96 days) and matched control participants. Long Covid symptoms were reported by 294 double-vaccinated participants (prevalence 9.5%) compared with 452 unvaccinated participants (14.6%), corresponding to an aOR for Long Covid symptoms of 0.59 (95% CI: 0.50 to 0.69). There was no evidence of heterogeneity by adenovirus vector versus messenger ribonucleic acid vaccines (p=0.25). Conclusions: COVID-19 vaccination is associated with reduced risk of Long Covid, emphasising the need for public health initiatives to increase population-level vaccine uptake. Longer follow-up is needed, as is the assessment of further vaccine doses and the Omicron variant.

Impact of COVID-19 vaccination on the risk of developing long-COVID and on existing long-COVID symptoms: A systematic review

“…For the 'vaccine -infection -long COVID' studies, the impact of vaccine on long-COVID symptoms was presented as odds ratio (OR), adjusted odds ratio (aOR), and hazards ratio (HR). Two articles 23,24 used HR, two 19 20 used purely OR, one 22 used aOR, and another 21 used both aOR and OR for expressing differences in long-COVID development between vaccinated and nonvaccinate people.…”

Increased anxiety from fear of Omicron in China as compared to North America and Western Europe: A cross-sectional Kendall’s tau-b analysis using the generalized anxiety disorder 7-item questionnaire

“…Therefore, the mass media reports were misleading to the public, which should have been avoided as much as possible. Regarding the effectiveness of vaccination against long COVID-19, two studies by Ayoubkhani et al demonstrated that people who completed two doses of vaccine were less likely to develop long-term sequelae after being infected with COVID-19 ( 59 , 60 ).…”

Stellenwert der COVID-19-Impfung im Kontext von Long-COVID

“…Tab. 1), wovon 7 zeigen, dass die COVID-19-Impfung mit einem reduzierten Long-COVID-Risiko assoziiert ist, wobei dies in 6 Fällen [19][20][21][22][23][24][25] für die vollständige Impfung und in einem Fall für die Einfachimpfung zutraf [25]. Zwei dieser Studien unterschieden nicht, ob die Impfung vor oder nach Infektion stattgefunden hat [24,25].…”

“…Eine einmalige Impfung hatte keinen protektiven Effekt (aOR 1,00, 95 %-KI 0,66-1,49; [22]). Eine britische Studie ergab, dass eine zweimalige Impfung mindestens 2 Wochen vor SARS-CoV-2-Infektion mit einer 41 %igen Reduktion der Long-COVID-Wahrscheinlichkeit zum Zeitpunkt 12 Wochen nach Infektion assoziiert war: Long-COVID jeglichen Schweregrads aOR 0,59 (95 %-KI 0,50-0,69), aktivitäteneinschränkende Long-COVID aOR 0,59 (95 %-KI 0,48-0,73; [23]).…”