The threat of long COVID (persistent, distressing symptoms that persist long after a coronavirus infection) has decreased since the start of the pandemic, and the decline is evident in those who are vaccinated, according to a new study.
But this decline doesn’t mean the threat of a long-term COVID onset has gone away. And given the rise in new infections, especially at a time when knowledge indicates transmission is high, even a lower prevalence rate means many Americans are at risk of symptoms that can last months or years after infection. initial has disappeared.
“We have other people in the clinic here with long COVID, and they’re particularly affected, and some of them are profoundly disabled,” said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, studies and progression lead at Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care. System in Missouri.
The study, published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that 10. 4% of people infected early in the pandemic suffered long COVID symptoms a year after their acute infection.
But in the Omicron era, which began in mid-December 2021, when this variant became the dominant version of the coronavirus circulating around the world, 3. 5% of vaccinated people suffered long COVID a year after their infection, as did 7. 8% of the other unvaccinated. friends.
“This is news,” said Al-Aly, co-author of the study. “Long COVID has decreased. It is decreasing and has decreased throughout the pandemic.
But it’s still concerning that long-term COVID rates remain as high as they are, Al-Aly said, especially since COVID “still affects millions of people. “
“Three point five percent is not zero,” Al-Aly said. “That’s still 3 to 4 out of every hundred Americans with a disease that, in some cases, could be devastating. “
The study was based on fitness records maintained by the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The U. S. Census Centers for Veterans of the U. S. Department of Homeland Security contained data on more than 441,000 veterans infected with the coronavirus between March 1, 2020, and January 31, 2022, and monitored for a year after their infection to determine if they suffered a lot of COVID. Other co-authors are Yan Xie and Taeyoung Choi, who are also affiliated with the VA St. Health System. Louis.
Every time a user is infected with the coronavirus, there is the threat of it spreading for a long time, a general term used to describe a wide variety of severe symptoms that can lead to chronic disability, according to the Centers for Disease Control of the United States. and Prevention. Some other people have frequently suffered prolonged illness since becoming inflamed at the start of the pandemic, while others have noticed their symptoms disappear within a few months.
Long COVID symptoms come with life-interfering fatigue, brain fog, and post-exertional malaise, in which symptoms worsen with physical or intellectual exertion. Long COVID can also cause a pounding or immediate heartbeat, dizziness when you wake up, depression, and anxiety.
Millions of American adults and youth have suffered or continue to suffer from long COVID.
There are a few reasons why long COVID is rarer than it used to be.
Firstly, the coronavirus (officially known as SARS-CoV-2) has been changing especially since it was first known in December 2019.
“We call it COVID, but in reality, COVID has repeatedly reshaped us,” Al-Aly said.
This would be the reason why “the threat has really diminished even among unvaccinated people,” Al-Aly said. “So even without being affected by the vaccines, only the virus itself has declined over time. “
But as it was found, getting vaccinated more reduces the risk of long COVID.
“Vaccines do two things: First, they measure the severity of the infection,” Al-Aly said.
Second, “they really help the immune system get rid of the virus faster,” Al-Aly said. “They expand the ability of the immune formula to eliminate the virus. . . and therefore there are fewer viruses that can wreak havoc” on the organs and the body. formulas.
One of the leading theories about the root cause of long COVID is that the coronavirus persists in the framework long after an acute infection has ended, Al-Aly said. So if the vaccine is helping the immune formula get rid of the virus faster, it may just be the threat of the syndrome emerging.
“We know that immunity to vaccines wanes over time,” Al-Aly said. “Stay up to date with your vaccination. “
The severity of long COVID varies from user to user. Some may experience mild cognitive impairment or fatigue, but are still able to fulfill daily responsibilities, such as taking their children to school or walking the dog. Others would possibly suffer from a “fatigue so debilitating that it profoundly disables them: they cannot get out of bed. . . they are literally unable to perform their activities of daily living,” Al-Aly said.
Long COVID can emerge, persist and recur over a period of weeks or months, according to the CDC.
There is more data to suggest that the occurrence of long COVID has decreased since the start of the pandemic. According to survey data, the prevalence of long COVID among American adults was 7. 5% in early June 2022, but had decreased to about 6% by early January 2023, according to a report published this summer. passed through the CDC. Since then, the “prevalence has remained unchanged” until mid-June 2023, some time before the publication of this report.
About 1 in four adults who reported having had COVID for a long time in the survey reported having significant limitations in their same usual activities, highlighting “the importance of COVID prevention, in addition to staying up to date on recommended COVID-19 vaccination,” according to the report.
COVID and long COVID remain a greater public health risk than the flu. People suffer from prolonged headaches after battling the flu, Al-Aly said, “but in fact there are many more cases of COVID than the flu. Therefore, you are much more likely to contract COVID than the flu. .
Even right now, more people are dying and being hospitalized from COVID than from the flu, Al-Aly said. The CDC estimates there have been at least 25,000 flu deaths nationwide since the beginning of October, compared to at least 46,000 deaths from COVID-19. 19 deaths were reported in the same period. Updated death estimates for the latest flu season will be available this fall.
In addition to getting vaccinated, other tactics to prolong COVID include getting tested when you are not in good health to see if you have COVID. A proven diagnosis can help other people at higher risk get a prescription for Paxlovid, antiviral pills that can help reduce the severity of infections and potentially reduce the risk of long COVID, Al-Aly said.
Other measures include dressing in a mask in higher-risk situations. Al-Aly said he wears an N95 mask on planes and wears it strategically in higher-risk environments. He is also more cautious about wearing a mask due to a COVID surge, as is happening lately nationally. And dining in a place to eat is still less dangerous than dining indoors.
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