Long COVID, or medically known as post-acute sequelae SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), first came on our radar in Summer 2020. A landmark study described, for the first time, that the morbidity of COVID19 goes far beyond initial infection. Since, studies have estimated between
While reducing the risk of infection obviously reduces the risk of PASC, the very high degree of sterilizing immunity achieved right after the second (third?) shot doesn't last very long. Protection vs. symptomatic COVID-19 is more persistent, but small comfort given findings of long COVID symptoms following asymptomatic infections.
Reports of PASC sufferers feeling better following vaccination are interesting, but they could just as plausibly be explained by a placebo effect as either of the mechanisms proposed by Prof. Iwasaki. (On the other hand, this study and the handful of others like it do seem to show that vaccinations doesn't often make long-haulers feel *worse*, which is good.)
In any case, we desperately need some answers when it comes to long COVID. If we're going to "live with" COVID-19 as an endemic disease, then we need to figure out how to prevent it from disabling large numbers of people. The world's social welfare systems can no more sustain such a surge than hospitals can one of severe acute cases.
I think the jury is still out on this one. Another large study, based on medical records rather than self-reporting, found no difference PASC between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.10.26.21265508v1.full.pdf. And another, based on VA records, found some reduced risk in vaccinated individuals, but far less than the ~50% reduction touted in the Lancet study: https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-1062160/v1.
While reducing the risk of infection obviously reduces the risk of PASC, the very high degree of sterilizing immunity achieved right after the second (third?) shot doesn't last very long. Protection vs. symptomatic COVID-19 is more persistent, but small comfort given findings of long COVID symptoms following asymptomatic infections.
Reports of PASC sufferers feeling better following vaccination are interesting, but they could just as plausibly be explained by a placebo effect as either of the mechanisms proposed by Prof. Iwasaki. (On the other hand, this study and the handful of others like it do seem to show that vaccinations doesn't often make long-haulers feel *worse*, which is good.)
In any case, we desperately need some answers when it comes to long COVID. If we're going to "live with" COVID-19 as an endemic disease, then we need to figure out how to prevent it from disabling large numbers of people. The world's social welfare systems can no more sustain such a surge than hospitals can one of severe acute cases.
Just a quick question--why is the percentage of unvaccinated different in these two bullets (under the "Second Study" heading)?
* The rate of long COVID19 among partially vaccinated breakthrough cases was the same as the rate of long COVID19 among unvaccinated (9.2% vs 10.7%).
* The rate of long COVID19 among fully vaccinated breakthrough cases was lower than the rate of long COVID19 among unvaccinated (5.2% vs. 11.4%).
So, we're ok with under 5s just getting long covid?