Efficacy of COVID-19 Vaccination on the Symptoms of Patients With Long COVID: A Target Trial Emulation Using Data From ... France, 2021, Viet-Thi Tran

[rvallee]

One of the first studies on the impact of vaccination on Long Covid. Significantly reduces risk, but doesn't appear (at first glance) to make much of cases who got worse, which is especially problematic given that medicine is largely unable to do anything for those, and often hostile to the idea. Benefits clearly outweigh the risks but the neglect of individual who get worse remains a problem, especially given how casually dismissive people tend to be, in part probably to avoid emphasizing bad outcomes (or put another way: ignoring reality in favor of hopium).

Thread with the main points:

 

[Trish]

Preprint
Full title:
Efficacy of COVID-19 Vaccination on the Symptoms of Patients With Long COVID: A Target Trial Emulation Using Data From the ComPaRe e-Cohort in France

Abstract
Background: Long COVID is a complex multiorgan disorder that can affect patients’ lives severely. Recent reports suggest that symptoms improve after COVID-19 vaccination.

Methods: We used data from the ComPaRe long COVID cohort to emulate a target trial evaluating the effect of vaccination among patients with long COVID who still had persistent symptoms at baseline. Vaccinated patients were matched to unvaccinated controls in a 1:1 ratio by their propensity scores. Outcomes, all measured at 120 days after baseline, include disease severity (long COVID ST, range 0-53), rate of complete remission (ie, disappearance of all symptoms), disease impact on patients’ lives (long covid IT, range 0-60), and the proportion of patients reporting an unacceptable symptom state. Vaccinated patients reported all adverse events occurring after vaccination in free text.

Findings: In total, 455 patients were allocated to the vaccination group and 455 to the control group; 545 (60·1%) had confirmed infections, and 81 (8·9%) had been hospitalized during their acute COVID-19. By 120 days, vaccination reduced the long COVID symptoms (mean (SD) ST score in the vaccination group 13·0 (9·4) vs. 14·8 (9·8) in the control group; mean difference: -1·8, 95% CI -2·5 to -1·0) and doubled the rate of patients in complete remission (remission rate 16·6% vs 7·5%, HR: 1·97, 95% CI 1·23 to 3·15). Furthermore, vaccination reduced both disease impact on patients’ lives (mean (SD) IT score 24.3 (16·7) vs 27·6 (16·7); mean difference: -3·3, 95% CI -6·2 to -0·5) and the proportion of patients with an unacceptable symptom state (38.9% vs 46.4%, risk difference -7·5%, 95% CI -14·4 to -0·5). In the vaccination group, two (0·4%) patients reported serious adverse events leading to hospitalisation.

Interpretation: COVID-19 vaccination lowers the severity and life impact of long COVID at 120 days among patients with persistent symptoms.

 

[rvallee]

I'm genuinely amazed that there hasn't been any research so far trying to figure out why. It's only ever used to get people to vaccinate. No one seems interested to understand why it is and how it relates to what Long Covid is, at least not anyone with the influence to decide what gets researched. We could learn so much. Instead it's used as the cheapest and most hypocritical marketing ploy ever.

Of all the missed opportunities, this is one that cannot be explained other than ideological stubbornness.

Then again, maybe it's just too hard. Not technically, for sure, it's just too hard for the current state of medicine to do this for cultural reasons.