The risk of developing long COVID has decreased significantly over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an analysis of data led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Researchers attributed about 70% of the risk reduction to vaccination against COVID-19 and 30% to changes over time, including the SARS-CoV-2 virus’s evolving characteristics and improved detection and management of COVID-19.
The research is published July 17 in The New England Journal of Medicine.
“The research on declining rates of long COVID marks the rare occasion when I have good news to report regarding this virus,” said the study’s senior author, Ziyad Al-Aly, MD, a Washington University clinical epidemiologist and global leader in COVID-19 research. “The findings also show the positive effects of getting vaccinated.”
Long COVID encompasses the lingering and debilitating effects on health experienced by about 10% of people who have been infected with COVID-19. To date, the World Health Organization has documented more than 775 million cases of COVID-19.
In more than 30 high-profile studies, Al-Aly has detailed the virus’s indiscriminate, long-term health impacts across nearly all organ systems affecting the heart, brain, kidneys and gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
Although his latest findings sound more reassuring than previous studies, Al-Aly tempered the good news. “Long COVID is not over,” said the nephrologist, who treats patients at Washington University-affiliated John J. Cochran Veterans Hospital in St. Louis. “We cannot let our guard down. This includes getting annual COVID vaccinations, because they are the key to suppressing long COVID risk. If we abandon vaccinations, the risk is likely to increase.”