News: Risk of long COVID dropped since the start of the pandemic, study shows

The chances of a person developing long COVID have significantly decreased since the pandemic began, according to a new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Among unvaccinated people, the study found long COVID was developed by 10.4% infected with the original strain of COVID, 9.5% infected with the Delta strain, and 7.7% infected with Omicron, showing a clear downward trend. Among vaccinated people, the same phenomenon occurred, with long COVID occurring in 5.3% of those infected with the Delta strain and 3.5% of those infected with Omicron experiencing long COVID, Medscape Medical News reported.

Researchers pulled data from health records collected between March 1, 2020, and January 31, 2022. They note that with long COVID, symptoms persist months or years after infection with symptoms like extreme fatigue, shortness of breath, loss of the sense of smell, and muscle aches. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Household Pulse Survey, 18.4% of American adults report experiencing long COVID at some point.

“You can see a clear and significant difference in risk during the delta and omicron eras between the vaccinated and unvaccinated,” said Ziyad Al-Aly, MD, director of the Clinical Epidemiology Center at the VA St. Louis Health Care System and head of the research and development service, in a statement. “So, if people think COVID is no big deal and decide to forgo vaccinations, they're essentially doubling their risk of developing long COVID.”

Al-Aly also noted that the chances of heart, brain, kidney, and lung problems declined among people infected with the Omicron strain, while the risk of problems with metabolic function and the gastrointestinal system increased, and that “each variant has its own fingerprint.”

Editor’s note: To read Medscape Medical News’ coverage of this story, click here. To access the study, click here.