In a finding that should reassure Americans who have already lined up to get their coronavirus shots, a new study shows the risk of long COVID-19 is halved in fully vaccinated adults if they do get a breakthrough infection.
Researchers analyzed data from people who provided information for a COVID symptom study in the U.K. between Dec. 8, 2020, and July 4, 2021, including 1.2 million who’d received one vaccine dose and more than 971,000 who’d received two doses (fully vaccinated).
Fully vaccinated adults had a 49% reduced risk of long COVID, a 73% reduced risk of hospitalization and a 31% reduced risk of acute symptoms, the study shows.
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The most common symptoms among fully vaccinated adults were similar to those in unvaccinated people: loss of smell, cough, fever, headaches, and fatigue. But compared to the unvaccinated, fully vaccinated adults had milder and fewer symptoms and were half as likely to have multiple symptoms in the first week of illness.
Sneezing was the only common symptom that occurred more often in vaccinated adults, according to the study published Sept. 1 in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.
It also found that people who lived in the poorest areas had a greater risk of infection after a single shot. People with frailty and other health conditions that limited their independence were up to two times more more likely to get COVID-19 after vaccination.
“In terms of the burden of long COVID, it’s good news that our research has found that having a double vaccination significantly reduces the risk of