“I’m tired and I can’t breathe”… COVID-19 vaccine cannot prevent sequelae[과학을읽다]
[아시아경제 김봉수 기자] Although the COVID-19 vaccine prevents infection and severe conversion, it is pointed out that if a breakthrough infection occurs, it is not as effective in preventing sequelae such as fatigue, loss of concentration, and difficulty breathing compared to those who have not been vaccinated.
According to the international academic journal Nature on the 27th, in a Facebook survey conducted by an American law firm, 44 out of 1950 vaccinated people were infected, and more than half of them, 24, were confirmed to be suffering from various sequelae. In addition, while 40% of respondents said their aftereffects had improved after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, 14% said their symptoms worsened. Because this questionnaire was not randomized, it is not suitable for use in determining the proportion of post-vaccination breakthrough-infected patients with sequelae. However, “Anyway, realistically, it shows that there are people suffering from sequelae among the breakthrough infections,” Nature explained.
There are also other research findings. A survey of about 1,500 vaccinated healthcare workers in Israel confirmed 39 breakthrough infections, of which 7 (19%) had sequelae lasting more than 6 weeks. In addition, a study at King’s College in the UK found that the vaccine only halved the risk of lasting sequelae for at least four weeks if a person who received a breakthrough infection was infected. The King’s College research team is particularly paying attention to the fact that 11% of those who were not vaccinated and who were infected complained of sequelae, and 5% of those infected with breakthrough infections had sequelae. Claire Steve, a professor at King’s College University, said, “Although the proportion of patients with sequelae among breakthrough infections is rather small, its existence itself is meaningful.
Although the results of the study have not yet been peer-reviewed, there are also analyzes that this situation will worsen in the future. When Oxford University in the UK compared the electronic medical records of infected people after only receiving the flu vaccine with about 10,000 people with breakthrough infections, the results showed that the COVID-19 vaccine did not protect those vaccinated against some sequelae. According to statistics released by the British government in October, a single dose of the COVID-19 vaccine reduced the number of reported sequelae cases by 13%, and a second dose decreased by an additional 9%.
So far, there are no studies that have clearly identified the correlation between COVID-19 vaccination and sequelae. But as the sequelae overflowed, Congress last December allocated $1.15 billion to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the long-term health effects of COVID-19 infection on citizens. The NIH plans to conduct a follow-up study on the causes and consequences of COVID-19 infection sequelae for more than 10,000 citizens for four years.
By Kim Bong-soo, staff reporter bskim@asiae.co.kr
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