Research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania suggests vaccines significantly reduce the chances of unvaccinated children and adolescents developing long COVID. The findings highlight that vaccination prevents infection, indirectly reducing the risk of suffering from long COVID rather than offering explicit protection against it.
Yong Chen, PhD, a senior author of the study published in Lancet eClinicalMedicine, stated, “In other words, vaccination has been key to preventing COVID-19 infection, which is important to reducing the risk of long COVID as well.”
The cause of long COVID, a condition where symptoms persist long after the initial infection, is still not fully understood. Symptoms can linger for weeks or months, featuring fatigue, brain fog, and other non-specific issues. According to a 2022 survey by the CDC, 7.5 percent of Americans were dealing with long COVID, including more than 9 percent of women in the US.
Despite previous studies with inconsistent results regarding vaccine protection against long COVID, new research indicates a potential broader protective effect than previously considered. Jeffrey Morris, PhD, the director of Biostatistics, discussed that comparing vaccinated to unvaccinated individuals does not fully capture the vaccine’s impact in preventing infections, thus reducing long COVID.
The study focused on the age group of children and adolescents due to their different immune responses compared to adults. Through the NIH’s RECOVER initiative, which analyzes electronic health records nationwide, the research included data from 400,000 young individuals during the significant COVID-19 waves of 2021 and 2022.
Research revealed about 95 percent vaccine effectiveness in preventing long COVID among adolescents during the 2021 Delta variant period, as opposed to around 60 and 75 percent during Omicron’s presence in 2022. Co-author Qiong Wu, PhD, clarified the findings using mediation analysis, pointing out no special protective vaccine effect once infection occurred, emphasizing prevention through vaccination.
To summarize, “Preventing COVID-19 infections in the first place, including through vaccination, appears to be the best way to avoid long COVID,” Chen affirmed.
This study was carried out with support from various National Institutes of Health grants and Project Program Awards from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.
