Recent results from a British survey indicate that individuals who received one or two doses of COVID-19 vaccines before infection had a 41% lower likelihood of experiencing long-term symptoms of the disease after 12 weeks compared to those who were unvaccinated prior to infection. The study was conducted by the UK Health Security Agency based on a survey of thousands of patients from April 2020 to November 2021.
The findings revealed that receiving two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine reduces the risk of long-term symptoms by half. A summary of the study was published on the MedRxiv medical network, and the research was conducted under the supervision of Daniel Ayub Khan from the Royal Statistical Society.
Long-term symptoms of COVID-19 infection are defined as a wide range of health issues that can affect individuals for four weeks or more following the initial viral infection. These symptoms can occur even in those who showed no symptoms in the days or weeks following the infection. These cases may manifest in various forms and combinations of health problems for different durations.
The study relied on a government survey regarding COVID-19 infection, which included participants aged between 18 and 69 years, and monitored patients two weeks after infection. It also incorporated a review of 15 local and international studies on COVID-19 symptoms.
This study provides strong evidence that prior immunity from vaccination before COVID-19 infection offers some protection against the long-term adverse outcomes of this virus, highlighting that the benefits of vaccines extend beyond reducing hospitalization duration and decreasing mortality risk.
