with 3 doses the risk drops to 16%

A large Humanitas study investigated the relationship between the vaccine and the effects of Long Covid, showing that vaccinated people are better protected from the long-term consequences of infection, regardless of the variant type. In particular, the results of the study, published in the journal JAMA, which involved 2,560 health workers from 8 Humanitas hospitals in Lombardy and Piedmont, and of Humanitas University over two years (from March 2020 to April 2022) show that the second is especially the third dose of the mRNA vaccine reduce the prevalence of Long Covid to 16%.

What the Italian study of Humanitas says on Long Covid

Do vaccinated people have a lower risk of dealing with Long Covid? The study funded by the Humanitas Research Foundation, conducted by the professor, answers this question Maria Rescignohead of the Laboratory of Mucosal and Microbiota Immunology at Humanitas and Professor of General Pathology at Humanitas University, and by doctor Elena AzzoliniDeputy Medical Director of Humanitas, in collaboration with Professor Alberto Mantovaniscientific director of Humanitas.

Research results show that the unvaccinated (in 2020 no vaccines were available) are the most exposed to Long Covid (41.8%), against 16% of those who were vaccinated with 3 doses. Data published in JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association, broaden the knowledge gained with the Covid Care Programone of the first and most extensive epidemiological and immunological studies launched in Humanitas to evaluate the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 and find answers to the many questions of the pandemic.

In practice, from March 2020 to April 2022, the research ‘photographed’ the state of the immune system of the hospital population during the succession of different variants and the effects of the vaccination campaign that reached the third dose and, for the most fragile, the fourth. Long Covid is a pathological situation defined by the persistence of at least one symptom (such as extreme fatigue, headache, cognitive fog, loss of smell or cardiovascular system disorders) for more than 4 weeks from the onset of the first signs of SARS infection -CoV 2. The aim of the study was to identify the protection of the vaccine against Long Covid in subjects positive to the virus, even asymptomatic. For this purpose, the hospital population involved was found to be the best audience because they were plurivaccinated, subjected to research tests for SARS-CoV 2 every two weeks – which made it possible to identify asymptomatic patients -, and to serological tests every 3 months. The study was conducted on a population with an average age of around 40 and a prevalence of women (70%). Important factors given that Long Covid mainly concerns women, and that similar research carried out in other countries involved men over 60 and differently vaccinated (with only two doses of mRNA vaccine or a dose of Johnson & Johnson).

The results of the Humanitas research

“The research has followed the pandemic, from before the arrival of the vaccines to the various stages of the vaccination campaign – explained the professor Maria Rescigno -. We could thus see that the prevalence of Long Covid increased from 41.8% when vaccines were not yet available, to 16% with 3 doses. This confirms the effectiveness of 3 doses of the Long Covid vaccine, regardless of the virus variant “.

“We investigated over 40 symptoms with a questionnaire of over 200 questions asked of 2560 people – added the doctor Elena Azzolini -. The most frequently encountered symptoms were fatigue, weakness and headache. The study also found that, as the number of comorbidities, but especially allergies, increases, the risk of developing Long Covid is statistically more significant, regardless of vaccinations “.