Mayo Clinic Study: Vaccine May Reduce Severity of Long-Haul COVID

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- Mayo Clinic researchers are reporting a potential link between the COVID-19 vaccine and reduced severity of long-COVID symptoms. 

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That’s according to a Mayo Clinic study published in the Journal of Investigative Medicine. The research project involved 477 patients who sought treatment for long-haul COVID at Mayo Clinic between May 27, 2021 and July 26, 2022. 

A news release issued Wednesday morning says a little more than half of the study’s participants contracted the virus after receiving the COVID vaccine. The study found those vaccinated patients were less likely to experience long-COVID  symptoms such as abdominal pain, chest pain, dizziness, and shortness of breath. 

"These results were quite surprising to us," Greg Vanichkachorn, M.D., medical director of Mayo Clinic's COVID Activity Rehabilitation Program and the study's lead author, said in the news release. "This study shows that vaccines can be really important for long-haul COVID and can help reduce the severity of the condition." 

The World Health Organization says there have been 768 million cases of COVID-19 reported since 2020. 20% of people infected with virus under the age of 65 and one out of every four people sickened by the virus over the age of 65 go on to develop long COVID symptoms, the news release says. 

The Mayo study also found vaccinated patients were less likely to report other symptoms including loss of smell, chest pain, dizziness, numbness, shortness of breath, tremors and weakness.  The study did not find a significant difference between vaccinated and unvaccinated patients in reports of fatigue, muscle pain and tachycardia, or irregular heartbeat.