So far, COVID-19 vaccines have been shown to reduce the number of infections and the severity of symptoms associated with infection. Now, experts are finding that a full vaccine dose may also significantly lower your risk of complications and lingering symptoms–known collectively as long COVID–after a breakthrough infection (an infection that occurs post-vaccination). Not everyone is equally confident, however.

Doctors Are Hopeful

Occupational medicine specialist Dr. Greg Vanichkachorn, who works with post-COVID-19 syndrome patients at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said that breakthrough infections resulting in long COVID are “quite rare” in his experience.

That experience is shared by Dr. Michele Longo, an assistant professor of neurology at Tulane University in New Orleans who works with long-haul patients, and Dr. Maureen Lyons, medical director of the Care and Recovery from COVID-19 Clinic at Washington University in St. Louis. Neither of them has seen long COVID patients following a breakthrough infection. 

Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, a clinical epidemiologist at Washington University, is studying the effects of COVID-19 vaccination on long COVID risk in U.S. veterans. “Of the people who get vaccinated and end up with a breakthrough infection,” he said, “their risk of coming back to the clinic with some long COVID manifestation is very, very small.”

The Evidence is Circumstantial

Despite their encouraging observations, some of these same experts still urge caution. 

The lack of observed long COVID cases in vaccinated people might be a “lag time issue,” Dr. Lyons said. Since mass vaccinations only started being rolled out a few months ago, it could be that not enough time has passed to identify post-vaccine long-haulers. 

Dr. Natasha Altman, a cardiologist at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora, agreed that it may still be too soon to understand the vaccines’ effects on long COVID. Dr. Al-Aly concurred, stating, “It is possible that down the road we may discover that maybe the vaccine only delayed the inevitable.”

What This Means for You

Estimates of COVID-19 cases that lead to long-term illness are rising. Of the nearly 34 million Americans diagnosed with COVID-19, approximately 11 million could suffer from lingering symptoms and long-term complications.

While it’s still early to draw any hard conclusions, said Dr. Vanichkachorn, getting vaccinated remains “one of the best ways to lower your risk of getting post-COVID syndrome.” 

*Edwards, E. (2021, July 15). Doctors Say Risk of Long Covid Symptoms for Vaccinated People is “Very Small”. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/can-vaccinated-people-get-long-covid-doctors-say-risk-very-n1273970

Much about the novel coronavirus, i.e., COVID-19, is still not fully understood. As research progresses and our knowledge of the virus increases, information can change rapidly. We strive to update all of our articles as quickly as possible, but there may occasionally be some lag between scientific developments and our revisions.