Covid vaccine appears to ease symptoms of long Covid, sufferers claim
THE COVID vaccine appears to be easing the symptoms of people with long Covid.
Up to half of sufferers have reported feeling better after receiving the jab, according to doctors.
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So-called “long haulers” of Covid are plagued by persistent symptoms for weeks or months after recovering.
Breathlessness, fatigue and muscle pain makes daily life difficult, with some patients having to quit work.
But since the vaccine rollout began in the UK, reaching 24 million people so far, doctors report a marked improvement in those with the disease.
Dr David Strain, a clinical senior lecturer at the University of Exeter who runs long Covid clinics and is a member of the NHS taskforce on the condition, told: “We are getting people reporting improvements, and it’s quite widespread, about half of the people we are asking.
“There is a major reporting bias, though - the people who notice something remarkable are the ones shouting about it.
“This provides a bit of hope for people who have been struggling with this for 12 months or more, just to feel better for a bit. But also as researchers it tells us a lot of information: does this give us clues about how we should be treating it? We need to look very carefully,” he said.
Lou Barnes, who coordinates the 4,000-strong Post Covid Syndrome support group, estimated around one in five are seeing an improvement post-vaccine.
There are a number of theories about why the coronavirus vaccine can abolish long Covid symptoms.
The vaccine causes the body to create antibodies - killer immune cells that remember the virus the next time it enters the body.
Scientists have theorised the coronavirus is still lingering in patients with long Covid, however not enough for them to pass it on to other people.
Therefore, the antibodies generated by the vaccine help them clear it from their system.
Another explanation is that the vaccine can help “reset” the immune system, which is thought to be damaged from Covid and unable to return to normal.
Professor Ian Hall, who runs a long Covid clinic in Nottingham, says it's possible that being vaccinated gives some people a “psychological boost” that causes them to feel better - a bit like the “placebo effect”.
However, Ms Barnes said the positive effects reported in long haulers may only be temporary, perhaps as a result of how the jab works.
Up to one in ten people who have tested positive have Covid symptoms 12 weeks later, according to the Office for National Statistics.
It goes up to one in five when considering those who are still sick five weeks after infection.
Long Covid affects not only those who were in hospital with severe disease, but those who had only a mild infection.
People who were relatively fit, healthy and young when they caught the coronavirus are still suffering the effects months later.
Scientists have said formal studies should investigate whether coronavirus vaccines improve the health of long haulers.
Charles Bangham, who holds the chair in immunology at Imperial College London, told : “This is a very interesting and potentially important observation.
“At present these are just anecdotes, and systematic studies would be needed, but anecdotes can sometimes point the way to important discoveries.”
Due to how new long Covid is, doctors and scientists are still working to understand the treatment options, as well as causes.
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The NHS have set up more than 60 clinics to help treat patients with long Covid who are referred by their GP.
The centres will bring together doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists to offer both physical and psychological assessments, as long Covid impacts people differently.
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Long Covid is feared to increase in prevalence as the lockdown is slowly lifted.
Experts say a third wave of infections is inevitable, and with it will come another wave of long haulers.