Two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine can significantly reduce the risk of long Covid.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — Long Covid is one of the health problems that now lurk some Covid-19 survivors. A complete Covid-19 vaccination can help lower the risk long Covid up to 50 percent.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), long Covid is a condition in which symptoms of Covid-19 still occur in the fourth week or so after being first infected with SARS-CoV-2. In long cases of Covid-19, survivors may experience various symptoms such as shortness of breath, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, or coughing.
According to a study in the Lancet Infectious Diseases Journal, giving two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine can reduce risiko long Covid significantly. The reduced risk of getting long Covid after 28 days of being infected with SARS-CoV-2 can reach 50 percent in individuals who have received two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.
The study involved data from 1.2 million adults in the United Kingdom. This data collection took place from December 2020 to July 2021.
In addition to reducing the risk of long Covid, giving two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine also appears to reduce the risk of breakthrough infection and the risk of serious illness due to Covid-19. Breakthrough infection is a term for Covid-19 cases that affect individuals after being vaccinated.
According to the study, there were only 0.5 percent of breakthrough infection cases within 14 days after the first dose of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine was given. The number of breakthrough infection cases fell to 0.2 percent after the second dose was given.
As reported WebMD, Covid-19 vaccines also help reduce breakthrough infection cases. As many as 63 percent of individuals who have received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine experienced asymptomatic or asymptomatic breakthrough infection. In individuals receiving two doses, 94 percent of breakthrough infection cases were asymptomatic.
“We are at a critical juncture in the pandemic as cases worldwide increase due to the Delta variant,” said one of the researchers, Dr Claire Steves.
Dr Steves said that breakthrough infection cases could indeed occur. However, this does not reduce the role and great benefits of the Covid-19 vaccine for the wider community. “These vaccines really do work according to plan, to save lives and prevent serious illness,” explains Dr Steves.
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