Vaccination can significantly reduce the risk of long-term illness from Covid-19, as more shots provide better protection, according to a study.
Researchers found that people who received three or more doses of the vaccine had a 73 percent lower risk of contracting Covid long after infection than people who were not vaccinated.
They also found that people were 21 percent less likely to get sick after the first dose and 59 percent less likely to get sick after the second, according to the study published in the journal. BMJ.
“The results of this study highlight the importance of vaccination against Covid-19 – not only to reduce the risk of serious infections, but also to reduce the risk of long-term Covid-19,” said Maria Bigdell from the University of Gothenburg. I.
The number of people in the UK with long Covid-19, defined as symptoms lasting three months or longer, is estimated to be between one and two million.
The most common persistent symptoms are fatigue, difficulty thinking or concentrating, and joint pain.
However, according to the latest findings from Imperial College London’s REACT study, other persistent symptoms include loss or change in the sense of smell or taste, shortness of breath, extreme fatigue, chest tightness or pain, and poor memory.
Vaccines were already known to reduce the risk of serious illness after contracting Covid – and, to a lesser extent, the risk of getting it in the first place.
Meanwhile, previous research suggests that vaccination may also reduce the risk of long-term Covid-19 disease, which can develop in both mild and severe cases of the virus, although this is less common.
But these previous studies were fairly small, based on self-reported symptoms, which tend to be less reliable, and were conducted in experimental settings, the researchers said.
They also typically pooled different numbers of doses for each person, despite individual differences in the number of shots given.
Therefore, the results of previous studies were quite different.
Instead, this is a large study of 589,722 adults, based on real-world data and clinical diagnoses, which reveals the benefit of each subsequent dose.
It is the most comprehensive study yet on the benefits of vaccines against long-term Covid-19, and researchers say it should make a major contribution to solving the case.
Dr Bigdell notes that the study was “observational”, meaning it found an “association” between vaccines and long-term reduction in Covid risk, rather than establishing cause and effect.
So there could be another reason for the exile. But the researchers are confident their findings are compelling and strongly advocate vaccination to reduce the risk of long-term exposure to Covid-19.
The analysis also took into account a number of factors, including age, gender, previous illnesses, number of health exposures in 2019, education level, employment status and the dominant virus variant at the time of infection, the report said.
In one BMJ In an editorial on the study’s significance, Manoj Sivan, from the University of Leeds, said: “These are exciting results… It is encouraging that Covid-19 vaccines have a clear and clinically important protective effect against post-Covid-19 disease.”
Dr. Sivan also has a theory about protection against Long-Covid.
He said: “Vaccines activate the antibody and T-cell responses of the immune system, allowing them to be neutralized or destroyed.” [the virus], reducing the severity of infection and the risk of hospitalization and death. These mechanisms may also explain the protective effect of vaccines against post-Covid-19 diseases.”
Commenting on the differences between this study and previous research in this area, Dr. Bigdell added: “Some studies have previously examined the potential protective effect of vaccines on long Covid. However, they were relatively small and were rarely based on population size. [have] Often the effect was not assessed for different numbers of vaccine doses.
“We conducted a large survey of all adults living in the two largest regions of Sweden. We also used a clinical diagnosis of illness after Covid-19, compared to other studies that often used self-reported symptoms after Covid-19.”
Source: I News
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