A new study from Mayo Clinic has some good news for those worried about long-haul COVID.
According to the research, people who got their COVID-19 vaccine before catching the virus experienced milder long-term symptoms.
The study looked at symptoms like stomach and chest pain, dizziness, and breathing difficulties.
“This study shows that vaccines can be really important for long-haul COVID and can help reduce the severity of the condition,” said Greg Vanichkachorn, M.D., the study’s lead author.
Why Long-Haul COVID is a Concern
Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, there have been more than 768 million confirmed cases around the world.
Long-haul COVID is a condition where people continue to experience symptoms weeks or even months after recovering from the initial infection.
According to the World Health Organization, about 20% of people under 65 and 25% of those over 65 who catch COVID-19 will experience these long-term symptoms.
These can include a range of issues like extreme tiredness, breathing problems, and difficulty focusing.
Study Highlights
The research involved 477 people who were treated for long-haul COVID at Mayo Clinic between late May 2021 and late July 2022. A little over half of them had been vaccinated before catching COVID-19.
The vaccinated group was half as likely to experience stomach pain compared to those who hadn’t been vaccinated.
The study also found that vaccinated patients reported fewer other symptoms, such as loss of smell, chest pain, dizziness, and weakness.
However, there was no significant difference in complaints of extreme tiredness, muscle pain, or irregular heartbeats between the two groups.
What’s Next?
Dr. Vanichkachorn says that more research is needed, especially considering the emergence of new virus variants. “It has been three years since we first started working with patients who have long COVID,” he says.
“We need to understand what is happening at the cellular level to cause these symptoms. If we can better understand that, it will hopefully lead to new treatments for long-haul COVID.”
Key Takeaways
The study suggests that getting vaccinated not only protects you from severe COVID-19 but can also make long-haul symptoms less severe if you do get infected.
While further research is needed to understand the full impact of vaccination on long-haul symptoms, this study provides a new reason to consider getting the shot.
If you care about COVID, please read studies about Vitamin D deficiency linked to severe COVID-19, and how diets could help manage post-COVID syndrome.
For more information about COVID, please see recent studies about new evidence on rare blood clots after COVID-19 vaccination, and results showing zinc could help reduce COVID-19 infection risk.
The study was published in the Journal of Investigative Medicine.
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