Vaccination is a vital weapon in the fight against COVID-19, reducing the chances of hospitalization and COVID-related death. That said, a study out of Washington University in St. Louis, published in Nature Medicine, suggests that vaccinated people could still be susceptible to Long COVID. Among vaccinated people with breakthrough COVID-19 infections, 8%-12% may experience debilitating, lingering symptoms.*

What the Researchers Did

In conjunction with the Veterans Affairs St. Louis Healthcare System, Washington University researchers aimed to investigate whether vaccinated people with breakthrough infections of COVID-19 resulted in Long COVID.

• Medical records of 113,474 unvaccinated veterans who had COVID-19 were compared against 33,940 vaccinated veterans with breakthrough COVID infections.
• Subjects were mainly older white men, but data from over 1.3 million adults of all ages and racial backgrounds were also studied.
• Subjects were considered fully vaccinated if they had both doses of either the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

What They Found

The researchers discovered that:

• Compared to unvaccinated people, vaccinated people had a:
  • 34% lower risk of death, and 
  • 15% lower risk of Long COVID after infection.
• Compared to unvaccinated people, vaccinated people also had around:
  • 49% less risk of lung issues, and 
  • 56% lower risk of blood clotting

They also found that:

• Vaccinated people who were immune-compromised and had a breakthrough infection were 17% more likely to have Long COVID, compared to vaccinated people who were healthy prior to breakthrough infection.
• Vaccinated people who were hospitalized with breakthrough infections were 27% more likely to develop Long COVID within 1 month of diagnosis

In general, people with breakthrough infections had much greater risk of death and disease complications than a control group of nearly 6 million people who had never been infected. 

What It Means

Lead study author and clinical epidemiologist Ziyad Al-Aly, M.D., said, “The constellation of findings shows that the burden of death and disease experienced by people with breakthrough COVID-19 infections is not trivial.”

Al-Aly believes masking and social distancing are unsustainable and the virus could be with us for years to come. With the likelihood of breakthrough infection and potential for Long COVID in the vaccinated, he says more protective layers are “urgently” needed in addition to the current vaccines. These could include nasal vaccines or other drugs geared toward minimizing Long COVID risks.

“Our current approach will likely leave a large number of people with chronic and potentially disabling conditions that have no treatments, “Al-Aly says. “This will not only affect people’s health, but their ability to work, life expectancy, economic productivity, and societal well-being.”

Al-Aly recommends that people recovering from breakthrough infection see a doctor if lingering symptoms interfere with daily tasks.

*Sauerwein, K. (2022, May 25). Long COVID poses risks to vaccinated people, too. Medical Xpress. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-05-covid-poses-vaccinated-people.html