Are vaccinated people less prone to Long Covid? According to a study just published in the journal Jama, the second and especially the third dose of the mRna vaccine reduces the prevalence of Long Covid to 16 percent, regardless of the variantcompared with 41.8% of the unvaccinated.
The survey – which involved 2,560 health workers from 8 Humanitas hospitals in Lombardy and Piedmont, and Humanitas University over two years – was conducted by Maria Rescigno, head of the Humanitas Mucosal and Microbiota Immunology Laboratory and professor of General Pathology of Humanitas University, and by Elena Azzolini, Deputy Health Director of Humanitas, in collaboration with Alberto Mantovani, Scientific Director of Humanitas.
“The research has followed the pandemic, from before the arrival of the vaccines to the various phases of the vaccination campaign – explains Rescigno -. So we could see that the prevalence of Long Covid increased from 41.8% when vaccines were not yet available, to 16% with three doses. This confirms the effectiveness of three doses of vaccine against Long Covid, regardless of the variant of the virus “.
Over 40 symptoms under investigation, sample of 2,560 people
“We investigated over 40 symptoms with a questionnaire of over 200 questions submitted to 2,560 people – adds Azzolini -. The most common symptoms were fatigue, weakness and headache. The study also found that, as the number of comorbidities increases, but especially allergies, the risk of developing Long Covid is statistically more significant, regardless of vaccinations».
Long Covid is a pathological situation defined by the persistence of at least one symptom (extreme fatigue, headache, cognitive fog, loss of smell or cardiovascular system disorders …) for over 4 weeks from the development of the first signs of Sars infection. -CoV 2.