Association of Vaccination With the Persistence of Post-COVID Symptoms

Background: Patients who have had COVID-19 often report persistent symptoms after resolution of their acute illness. Recent reports suggest that vaccination may be associated with improvement in post-acute symptoms. We used data from a prospective cohort to assess differences in post-acute sequelae of COVID (PASC) among vaccinated vs. unvaccinated patients. Methods: We used data from a cohort of COVID-19 patients enrolled into a prospective registry established at a tertiary care health system in New York City. Participants underwent a baseline evaluation before COVID-19 vaccines were available and were followed six months later. We compared unadjusted and propensity score-adjusted baseline to 6-month change for several PASC-related symptoms and measures: anosmia, respiratory (cough, dyspnea, phlegm, wheezing), depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; COVID-19-related and other trauma), quality of life domains, body mass index, and blood pressure. Findings: The study included 453 COVID-19 patients with PASC, of which 324 (72%) were vaccinated between the baseline and six-month visit. Unadjusted analyses did not show significant differences in the baseline to six-month change in anosmia, respiratory symptoms, depression, anxiety, PTSD, quality of life, body mass index, or blood pressure (p>0.05 for all comparisons). Similar results were found in propensity-adjusted comparisons and in secondary analyses based on the number of vaccine doses received. Interpretation: Our findings suggest that COVID vaccination is not associated with improvement in PASC. Additional studies are needed to better understand the mechanisms underlying PASC and to develop effective treatments. Funding Information: None. Declaration of Interests: Dr. Wisnivesky received consulting honorarium from Atea, Sanofi, and Banook and grants from Sanofi, Arnold Consulting, and Regeneron. Dr. Aberg reports grants from Atea, Emergent Biosolutions, Frontier Technologies, Gilead Sciences, Glaxo Smith Kline, Janssen, Merck, Pfizer, Regeneron, and Viiv Healthcare and consulting honorarium from Glaxo Smith Kline, and Merck. Other authors report no conflicts of interest. Ethics Approval Statement: The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and all participants signed informed consent.