> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.europeans.today/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Vaccination could reduce Long COVID symptoms, new research suggests. - URL: https://www.europeans.today/2022/06/05/vaccination-could-reduce-long-covid-symptoms-new-research-suggests/ - Published: 2022-06-05T01:36:00.000Z - Updated: 2022-06-06T02:45:03.000Z - Description: A study of more than 28,000 UK adults has found that vaccination after having COVID is linked to a decrease in long COVID symptoms. - Author: Contribee - Tags: COVID-19, COVID-19 Study, Experts, Long COVID, Long-COVID Treatments, Long COVID & Vaccination, Long Haulers, Public Health ### A study of more than 28,000 UK adults has found that vaccination after having COVID is linked to a decrease in long COVID symptoms. ###### First published: June 2022. --- Graham was a healthy 34-year-old until he developed COVID in July 2020\. Along with his wife and children, he had a fever, a cough, breathlessness, profound fatigue and he lost his sense of smell. But instead of getting better like the rest of his family, Graham found that his breathlessness persisted. Even minor physical exertion or intellectual tasks like making shopping lists left him exhausted. Against his better judgment, Graham returned to his job as a schoolteacher after six weeks. But he quickly crashed – essentially he became so tired he could barely get out of bed – and had to go on sick leave again. Graham is fictitious but his story is typical of someone with long COVID – [defined as](https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng188/resources/covid19-rapid-guideline-managing-the-longterm-effects-of-covid19-pdf-51035515742?ref=europeans.today) COVID symptoms that are not better after four weeks (*“post-acute COVID”*) and especially after 12 weeks (*“chronic COVID”*). Data from the UK’s *Office for National Statistics (ONS)* shows that [**1.8 million** people](https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/prevalenceofongoingsymptomsfollowingcoronaviruscovid19infectionintheuk/6may2022?ref=europeans.today) in the UK (**2.8%** of the population) self-report symptoms of long COVID. Of these, **791,000** (**44%** of all long COVID patients) have been unwell for more than a year and **235,000** (**13%**) for more than two years. These groups are sometimes referred to as *“long haulers”*. #### **Editor’s Note |** *Most recent ONS estimate on Long COVID:* 🚨 **2.0 million** people currently live with long COVID in the UK (vs 1.8 million last month) 🚨 **3.1%** of the UK population currently live with long COVID (vs 2.8%) 🚨 **1 in 33 people** in the UK has long COVID 🚨 Long COVID symptoms adversely affect the day-to-day activities of **1.4 million people, 71%** of long COVID sufferers (vs 1.2 million) 🚨 Of those, **398,000 people** (**20%**) are *“limited a lot”* (vs 346,000) 🚨 **593,000** (**30%**) first had COVID-19 before Alpha became the main variant; **239,000** (**12%**) in the Alpha period, **427,000** (**21%**) in the Delta period, and **619,000** (**31%**) in the Omicron period. 🚨 Most common symptoms of long COVID: ▫ fatigue (**55%**) ▫ shortness of breath (**32%**) ▫ cough (**23%**) ▫ muscle ache (**23%**) 🚨 Prevalence of long COVID is greatest in people: ▫ aged 35-69 years ▫ females ▫ living in more deprived areas ▫ working in social care, teaching, education or health care ▫ with another activity-limiting health condition or disability *(Source: [ONS](https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/prevalenceofongoingsymptomsfollowingcoronaviruscovid19infectionintheuk/7april2022?ref=europeans.today) – 1 June 2022)* ### Without free, impartial, and fact-based media, information and democracy will always be controlled by governments and those who control the media. Support **PMP** Today! [CHIP IN or DONATE REGULARLY](https://www.europeans.today/support-pmp-magazine/) There is currently no known cure for long COVID, though even *long haulers* may improve with [multidisciplinary rehabilitation](https://www.hct.nhs.uk/media/4529/long-covid-rehabilitation-booklet-july-2021.pdf?ref=europeans.today). This involves physiotherapy and help with prioritising and planning to make the most of limited energy. Graham caught COVID before vaccines became available. When invited for his jab ten months after his initial illness, he wanted to know if it would make him better, worse or have no effect. At the time, his doctors couldn’t answer that question – but now we know more. While evidence suggests that people who are vaccinated before they get COVID are [less likely](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ukhsa-review-shows-vaccinated-less-likely-to-have-long-covid-than-unvaccinated?ref=europeans.today) to develop long COVID than unvaccinated people, the effectiveness of vaccination on existing long COVID has been less clear. Scientifically, the best way to test the impact of a vaccine on long COVID would be to take a few hundred unvaccinated people with long COVID, measure their illness severity (ranking each symptom on a scale of one to ten, for example), and randomly allocate half of them to receiving a COVID jab. The other half would get a placebo (a saline injection, for example). After a few months, the symptom scores would be collected again before revealing who had had which jab. This design is known as a randomised controlled trial. Unfortunately, there have been no such studies (perhaps because scientists have been busy on other aspects of this new disease), so the *“gold standard”* answer to Graham’s question is lacking. --- *For more stories like this, sign up to our [FREE Briefings](javascript:;) today.* --- At the other end of the scientific spectrum, there are anecdotes – stories of people like Graham’s neighbour whose long COVID improved after a vaccine. But one individual’s experience doesn’t speak for the population. And even if the anecdote is accurate, who is to say that the vaccine led to the improvement, as opposed to it being a coincidence? Association is not causation. Thousands of people with long COVID have joined online communities, some of which invite their members to take part in survey studies. In one [such study](https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjzo8e97%5Fn3AhVTfMAKHauqDKAQFnoECAsQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mdpi.com%2F2076-393X%2F10%2F5%2F652%2Fpdf%3Fversion%3D1650867319&usg=AOvVaw0jAFg9Te2RFk77UQdrEm-x) of around 800 people, a little over half of respondents felt improved after one jab, around one in six felt worse and the remainder reported no change in their symptoms. But since certain kinds of people – white, educated, female, affluent, and health-conscious – are [more likely](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34425522/?ref=europeans.today) to join online communities (and respond to surveys) than others, these types of studies aren’t necessarily a good reflection of the population as a whole. A [new study](https://www.bmj.com/content/377/bmj-2021-069676?ref=europeans.today) published in the *BMJ* looked at more than 28,000 UK adults who were part of the *ONS* [*COVID-19 Infection Survey*](https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/coronaviruscovid19infectionsurveypilot/previousReleases?ref=europeans.today). All had tested positive for COVID and at a later date (varying in time since their infection) underwent a course of COVID vaccination. Participants filled out symptom questionnaires before taking the COVID test, before vaccination and a few weeks after each dose. Overall, one in four people still reported some symptoms four weeks after their initial COVID infection. In one in six, symptoms were severe enough to limit their activities. ### Some prospered during the pandemic & claimed hundreds of millions of pounds from the government’s furlough scheme. **PMP* received nothing.* Help us as we crowdfund to make sure we continue our work. [Please CHIP IN to keep us going!](https://www.europeans.today/crowdfunding/) On average, the first vaccine was associated with a **13%** reduction in the chances that a person still had long COVID symptoms (which wasn’t sustained after 12 weeks) and the second with a further **9%** reduction (which was sustained). But this overall figure masks wide variation between people. In the survey mentioned above, we know that while some people improved, a few got worse and some stayed the same. In the [*BMJ* study](https://www.bmj.com/content/377/bmj-2021-069676?ref=europeans.today), improvement was greater the sooner the jab was given after COVID infection. There were small differences between different vaccines which may have been due to chance. So what’s the bottom line? As we argue in [this commentary](https://www.bmj.com/content/377/bmj.o988?ref=europeans.today), people like Graham with long COVID are more likely to improve (or stay the same) than deteriorate if they receive a vaccination. Although, as some patients have reported deterioration of long COVID symptoms after vaccination, more research into possible reasons for this will be important. That said, the benefits of COVID vaccination significantly outweigh the risks in most people. With the UK having recently declared two new variants of concern ([omicron BA4 and BA5](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/20/two-types-omicron-classified-covid-variants-concern-uk-ba4-ba5?ref=europeans.today)), there are strong grounds for making sure you’re fully vaccinated whether you have long COVID or not. ![PMP Magazine](https://storage.ghost.io/c/15/40/1540bec0-7154-4feb-b8e1-97f579155b08/content/images/2021/09/end-flat-1.png "PMP Magazine") ### **GOING FURTHER:** - *[Trajectory of long covid symptoms after covid-19 vaccination: community based cohort study](https://www.bmj.com/content/377/bmj-2021-069676?ref=europeans.today) | the bmj* - *[Are vaccines a potential treatment for long covid?](https://www.bmj.com/content/377/bmj.o988?ref=europeans.today) | the bmj* --- **What did you think of this article?** [😀](https://forms.gle/tRe7igVtMPaiAPtJ8?ref=europeans.today "Good") [🤔](https://forms.gle/tRe7igVtMPaiAPtJ8?ref=europeans.today "Not sure") [😴](https://forms.gle/tRe7igVtMPaiAPtJ8?ref=europeans.today "Boring") [😮](https://forms.gle/tRe7igVtMPaiAPtJ8?ref=europeans.today "Surprised") [😭](https://forms.gle/tRe7igVtMPaiAPtJ8?ref=europeans.today "Sad") [🤬](https://forms.gle/tRe7igVtMPaiAPtJ8?ref=europeans.today "Angry") --- ### **— AUTHORS —** ▫ *[Professor Trish Greenhalgh](https://www.europeans.today/author/trish-greenhalgh/), Professor of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford.* ▫ *[Professor Brendan Delaney](https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/brendan.delaney?ref=europeans.today), Professor of Medical Informatics and Decision Making, Imperial College London.* ▫ *[Dr Manoj Sivan](https://medicinehealth.leeds.ac.uk/medicine/staff/3148/dr-manoj-sivan-md-frcp-edin?ref=europeans.today), Associate Clinical Professor in Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Leeds.* --- ##### Sources **Text:** This piece was originally published in [The Conversation](https://theconversation.com/long-covid-vaccination-could-reduce-symptoms-new-research-suggests-183466?ref=europeans.today) and re-published in PMP Magazine on 5 June 2022\. | The author writes in a personal capacity. - **Cover:** Unsplash/[Tubagus Andri Maulana](https://unsplash.com/@tubagus%5F99?ref=europeans.today). (Licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/?ref=europeans.today).) ![Creative Commons License](https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-sa/4.0/88x31.png "Cover photograph license") ![The Conversation](https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183466/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic)