Photo Credit: Muhammad Shoaib
The following is a summary of “Association of mRNA COVID-19 vaccination and reductions in Post-COVID Conditions following SARS-CoV-2 infection in a US prospective cohort of essential workers,” published in the November 2024 issue of Infectious Disease by Mak et al.
Evidence suggests COVID-19 vaccination may reduce post-COVID conditions (PCC) risk following severe infection, yet data on its effectiveness against PCC after mild, non-hospitalized cases with recent SARS-CoV-2 variants remains limited.
Researchers conducted a study to assess the protective effect of COVID-19 vaccination against developing post-COVID conditions (PCC) in individuals with primarily mild initial infections during both Delta and Omicron variant predominance.
They used the HEROES-RECOVER cohort, with participants aged ≥18 years showing PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between 6/28/2021 and 9/14/2022 were investigated for PCC, defined as symptoms lasting >1 month. The cases were self-reported PCC cases, and controls were non-self-reporters. The exposure was mRNA COVID-19 vaccination (2 or 3 doses) vs no vaccination. The logistic regression was compared to PCC odds between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, with additional analyses for PCC subtypes.
The results showed that 936 participants with documented SARS-CoV-2 infection were included, 23.6% (221) reported PCC, and 83.3% (779) were vaccinated. Participants who received a third COVID-19 monovalent mRNA dose before infection had lower odds of PCC-related neurological, gastrointestinal, and other symptoms compared to unvaccinated participants (aOR: 0.37; 95% CI: 0.16-0.85; aOR: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.32-0.97; aOR: 0.48; 95% CI: 0.25-0.91).
Investigators concluded the COVID-19 vaccination was protective against developing PCC in individuals with mild infections during Delta and Omicron variant dominance, emphasizing its role in PCC prevention.
Source: academic.oup.com/jid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/infdis/jiae556/7896333
