New research in the United States on prolonged COVID-19 provides new evidence that it can occur even after major infections in vaccinated people, and that older adults face higher risks of long-term effects.
In a study of the elderly published Wednesday, about a third of those with advanced infections showed signs of prolonged COVID-19.
A separate report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that up to a year after an initial coronavirus infection, 1 in 4 adults over the age of 65 had at least one potential health problem from prolonged COVID compared to 1 in 5 younger adults.
Long-term COVID-19 refers to any of more than two dozen symptoms that persist, recur, or first appear at least one month after a coronavirus infection. These can affect all parts of the body and can include fatigue, shortness of breath, mental confusion, and blood clots.
Coronavirus vaccines that help prevent early infections and severe illness provide some protection against prolonged COVID, but mounting research shows not as much as scientists originally hoped.
The study of older people published in Nature Medicine reviewed the medical records of the elderly, mostly white men, with an average age of 60 years. Of the 13 million veterans, almost 3 million had been vaccinated last year, as of October.
About 1%, or nearly 34,000, developed infections. Lead author Dr Ziyad Al-Aly noted that the study was conducted before the highly contagious omicron variant appeared at the end of the year and said the rate of progressive infections has likely increased.
Progressive infections and prolonged COVID symptoms were more common among those who received Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose injection compared with two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines. It is not known if any had received booster shots. The first booster was not approved in the US until the end of September last year.
Overall, 32% had prolonged COVID symptoms for up to six months after recurrent infections. That compares to 36% of unvaccinated veterans who were infected and developed COVID for a long time.
Vaccination reduced the chances of any prolonged symptoms of COVID by a “modest” 15%, although it cut the risk of persistent breathing or clotting problems in half, said Al-Aly, a researcher at the University of Washington and the health system. of Veterans Affairs in St. Louis. These symptoms included persistent shortness of breath or cough and blood clots in the lungs or leg veins.
Dr. Kristin Englund, an infectious disease expert who runs a center for long-term COVID patients at the Cleveland Clinic, said the study Nature Medicine reflects what you see in your clinic. Patients with prolonged COVID symptoms there include people who were vaccinated and received booster doses.
“As we don’t have clear treatments for long COVID, it’s important that everyone get vaccinated and use other proven prevention methods, such as wearing masks and social distancing, to prevent COVID infections and therefore long COVID,” Englund said.
The CDC report, released Tuesday, used medical records from nearly 2 million American adults from the start of the pandemic in March 2020 through last November. They included 353,000 who had COVID-19. The patients were followed for up to a year to determine if they developed any of 26 health conditions that have been attributed to the long duration of COVID.
Those with COVID were much more likely than other adults without COVID to develop at least one of these conditions, and the risks were higher for those over 65. Information on vaccination, sex, and race was not included.
Respiratory problems and muscle aches were among the most common conditions.
Older adults’ risks were higher for certain conditions, including stroke, brain fog, kidney failure and mental health problems. The findings are concerning because those conditions can accelerate older adults’ long-term care needs, the report’s authors said.
They stressed that routine screening of all COVID patients “is critical to reducing the incidence” of prolonged COVID.
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