New US long-term research on COVID-19 provides new evidence that it can occur even after advanced infections in vaccinated individuals and that older adults face higher risks of long-term effects.
In a veterans study released Wednesday, about a third of those with innovative infections showed signs of long COVID.
A separate report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that up to one year after an initial coronavirus infection, 1 in 4 adults aged 65 or older had at least one possible long-term health problem with COVID. compared to 1 in 5 younger adults.
Long COVID refers to any of the more than two dozen symptoms that persist, recur, or appear for the first time at least one month after a coronavirus infection. These can affect all parts of the body and can include fatigue, shortness of breath, brain fog, and blood clots.
Coronavirus vaccines that help prevent early infections and serious illnesses provide some protection against long-term COVID, but growing research does not show as much as scientists had hoped.
The veterans study published in Nature Medicine reviewed the medical records of mostly white male veterans, 60, on average. Of the 13 million veterans, nearly 3 million had been vaccinated last year, as of October.
About 1%, or nearly 34,000, developed innovative infections. The lead author, Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, noted that the study was done before the highly contagious omicron variant appeared at the end of the year and said the rate of innovative infections has likely increased.
Innovative infections and long-term symptoms of COVID were more common among those who had received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine compared to two-dose Modern or Pfizer vaccines. It is not known if anyone had received booster injections; the first reinforcement was not accepted in the US until late September.
Overall, 32% had long-term symptoms of COVID up to six months after advanced infections. This compares with 36% of unvaccinated veterans who had been infected and developed COVID for a long time.
Vaccination reduced the chances of any long-term symptom of COVID by “modest” 15%, but halved the risk of persistent respiratory or clotting problems, said Al-Aly, a researcher at the University of Washington. and the Veterans Affairs Health System in St. Louis. . Lluís. These symptoms included difficulty breathing or persistent cough and blood clots in the lungs or veins in the legs.
Dr. Kristin Englund, an infectious disease expert who runs a center for long-term patients with COVID at the Cleveland Clinic, said the Nature Medicine study reflects what she sees in her clinic. Long-term patients with COVID include people who were vaccinated and received reinforcements.
“Because we do not have clear treatments for COVID-19, it is important that everyone be vaccinated and use other proven methods of prevention, such as masking and social distancing, to prevent COVID infections and therefore long COVID “Englund said.
The CDC report, released on Tuesday, used the medical records of nearly 2 million American adults from the start of the pandemic in March 2020 to last November. They included 353,000 who had COVID-19. Patients were monitored for up to one year to determine if they developed any of the 26 health conditions that have been attributed to long-term 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 65 and older. Information on vaccinations, sex, and race was not included.
Respiratory problems and muscle aches were among the most common conditions.
The risks of older adults were higher for certain conditions, such as stroke, brain fog, kidney failure, and mental health problems. The findings are worrisome because these conditions could accelerate the long-term care needs of older adults, the report’s authors said.
They noted that routine assessment of all patients with COVID “is critical to reducing the incidence” of long COVID.
Follow AP medical writer Lindsey Tanner on @LindseyTanner.
The Associated Press Department of Health and Science is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.