New research in the United States on long-lasting COVID-19 provides new evidence that it can occur even in vaccinated people, and that the elderly are at higher risk for long-term effects.
In a study of veterans published Wednesday, about a third of those who became infected despite being vaccinated showed signs of long-lasting COVID.
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 possible long-term COVID health problem, compared to 1 in 5 younger adults.
Long-term COVID refers to any of more than 20 symptoms that persist, recur, or appear for the first time at least a month after becoming ill with coronavirus. These symptoms can affect all parts of the body and could include fatigue, trouble breathing, trouble concentrating, and blood clots.
Coronavirus vaccines that help prevent severe infections and illnesses provide some long-lasting protection against COVID, but a growing body of research shows it’s not as much as scientists hoped.
The study on war veterans published in the journal Nature Medicine reviewed the medical records of veterans with an average age of 60 years and most of them white. Of the 13 million veterans, almost 3 million of them had been vaccinated last year, as of October.
Approximately 1%, or almost 34,000, became ill despite being vaccinated. The lead author of the report, Dr. Ziyad Al Aly, noted that the study was carried out before the highly contagious omicron variant appeared towards the end of the year, and indicated that the rate of infections among vaccinated people has possibly increased.
Infections among vaccinated people and long-lasting COVID symptoms were more common among those who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, compared with both Moderna or Pfizer vaccines. It is unknown if any of them received booster doses, as the boosters were not approved in the country until the end of September.
Overall, 32% developed long-lasting COVID symptoms up to six months after infection, compared to 36% of unvaccinated veterans who became infected and developed long-lasting COVID.
Vaccination reduced the odds of long-lasting symptoms by a “modest” 15%, although it halved the risk of persistent breathing problems or thrombi, said Al Aly, a researcher at the University of Washington and the Washington Health System. Veterans Affairs, in St. Louis. Symptoms include persistent cough or shortness of breath, and blood clots in the lungs or leg veins.
Dr. Kristin Englund, an infectious disease expert and director of a center for long-term COVID patients at the Cleveland Clinic, said the Nature Medicine study mirrors what she sees in her clinic. Her long-standing COVID patients include vaccinated and booster doses.
“With no long-term established treatments for COVID, it is important for everyone to get vaccinated and use other proven prevention methods, such as wearing masks and social distancing, to avoid COVID infections and therefore COVID. long lasting,” said Englund.
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 fell ill with COVID-19. The patients were followed for up to a year to determine if they had developed any of the 26 health problems attributed to long-term COVID.
Those who got sick with COVID were much more likely than adults without COVID to develop at least one of those problems, and the risks were highest among people 65 and older. Information on vaccination status, gender, and race was not included.
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Lindsey Tanner is on Twitter as: @LindseyTanner.
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