Current research indicates that children and adolescents who were unvaccinated during the pandemic were much more likely to develop Long COVID. Researchers led by Perelman Medical School at the University of Pennsylvania compared the unvaccinated children against their peers who had been vaccinated against the disease. Upon further analysis, the researchers found that the vaccine’s protection primarily prevents infection rather than providing protection from Long COVID. Dr. Yong Chen, the study’s senior author, emphasized that vaccinations are critical in the prevention of COVID-19 and reducing long COVID. The study has been  published recently in eClinicalMedicine.

The cause of Long COVID remains one of the unresolved issues of COVID-19. Its symptoms may persist for weeks or even months after the infection has subsided. Although the mechanisms of COVID 19 are unclear, it has almost become a scientific fact that infections from a virus often cause post-viral symptoms, with many of the symptoms being non-specific.

Long COVID remained prevalent although the most severe phase of the pandemic had passed.

New Research and Vaccines

Updated research suggests that, contrary to previous views, vaccines may provide better protection from Long COVID. By June 2022, the worst phase of the pandemic had passed, yet a CDC survey found that many Americans were still struggling with symptoms of Long COVID.

Biostatistics’ director and co-author of the study, Dr. Jeffrey Morris, said that a major portion of research on the effectiveness of vaccines against Long COVID has centered around adults. Dr. Morris explained that their new study highlights the younger generation because their immune response may differ from those of adults.

The Research Initiative

The researchers analyzed approximately 400,000 electronic health records throughout the nation of adolescents and young children to gain a better understanding of Long COVID. The data was pulled from the major COVID years of 2021 and 2022.

The 2021 Delta Wave

The analysis appeared to suggest that the COVID vaccine was almost 95% effective in preventing adolescents from Long COVID during the 2021 delta wave. From another viewpoint, vaccinated adolescents had only a 5% chance of getting long COVID compared to unvaccinated peers.

 The 2022 Omicron Variants:

• In the 5–11-year age group, vaccination was found to be approximately 60% effective in preventing Long COVID

• in the 12-20 year age group vaccination was found to be approximately 75% effective in preventing Long COVID

The investigators found approximately six-fold differences between vaccinated (0.24) and unvaccinated (1.43). First Author Dr. Qiong Wu conducted the research, with Professor Christopher Forrest of the Philadelphia Children’s Hospital as co-author. Dr. Wu explained that using the process of mediation analysis allowed the team to look for a cause and how it might arise. In this situation the researchers could identify how much the vaccine prevented the initial infection as opposed to providing a benefit after infection. The analysis indicated that once a child was infected, neither group, vaccinated or unvaccinated, could rely on the protective effect against long COVID. In summation, Dr. Chen said that preventing COVID-19 infections through vaccination at this point seems to be a better way of avoiding Long COVID. 

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