New research supports the notion that people's odds of developing Long COVID are declining over time Changes in viral strains and the advent of vaccinations may be driving the trend Still, 3.5% of people who get COVID now will go on to develop Long COVID, the data showed THURSDAY, July 18, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- You're far less likely to develop Long COVID now than you were in the midst of the pandemic, promising new data shows. Changes in strains of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, are playing a role in the lowered risk, but so are the proven benefits of vaccination, the study authors said.
“The research on declining rates of long COVID marks the rare occasion when I have good news to report regarding this virus,” said senior study author Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly . “The findings also show the positive effects of getting vaccinated.
” Al-Aly is a clinical epidemiologist and COVID-19 research specialist at Washington University in St. Louis. His team published its findings July 17 in the New England Journal of Medicine .
The new report comes on the heels of another study published recently by a team at the University of Münster in Germany. That research found that risks for Long COVID declined with the emergence of each new successive strain of the virus, and with multiple vaccinations. In the latest report, Al-Aly's team pored over millions of health records compiled by the largest health care system in the United States, the U.
S. Department of Veterans Affairs..
