Vaccination Eases Symptoms For Some COVID Long-Haulers Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply.

Could the COVID-19 Vaccine Help Long-Hauler Symptoms

After anecdotal accounts of quick recoveries researchers seek to understand the possible link

Getty Images It was close to Christmas when Thomas Goldsmith, a musician in Raleigh, North Carolina, knew he'd been hit with “I had lots of terrible aches and pains, serious fatigue, loss of appetite, shortness of breath and a weird disorientation,” Goldsmith, 69, recalls. Testing soon confirmed he'd contracted the virus. “It was two weeks of the flu-beyond-the-flu,” he says. “The worst part was it didn't really go away after two weeks. It was more like two months." Goldsmith was afflicted with what's commonly called post-COVID syndrome or . The National Institutes of Health only recently named it: Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Sufferers experience lingering COVID-19 symptoms including chronic cough, chest pain, shortness of breath, memory and sleep problems for four to six weeks — or much longer — after they no longer test positive for the infection. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. A by researchers from the University of Washington suggests that between 10 percent and 30 percent of COVID patients are so-called long-haulers, which, given the nearly 33 million cases in the United States, could add up to more than 9 million people.

Swift improvement after second dose reported

Fortunately for Goldsmith, his symptoms seemed to disappear after he received his second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. “The improvement was amazingly quick,” he says. “My appetite, energy, concentration all returned, and I felt almost human again." Goldsmith says he didn't connect the vaccine to his improved health until he began hearing others describe similar experiences. In a survey conducted by , an online grassroots group of COVID-19 survivors, roughly 40 percent of participants reported partial to full resolution of their symptoms after they were vaccinated. About 23 percent of long COVID patients in a small U.K. study said they had an “increase in symptom resolution” after being vaccinated, compared to about 15 percent of people who were not vaccinated. AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Flowers & Gifts 25% off sitewide and 30% off select items See more Flowers & Gifts offers > One theory is that people with long COVID have a reservoir of the virus in their bodies that is wiped out, along with the lingering symptoms it's been causing, when the vaccine produces a strong immune response. Another possibility is that COVID-19 may trigger a hyperactive autoimmune response in which immune cells mistakenly continue to attack the body's own cells. In this case, the vaccine may work by minimizing the immune response and clearing up the symptoms it's been causing. John M. Baratta, M.D., co-director of the in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, believes the post-vaccine response that seems to resolve patients’ symptoms is more than a placebo effect. However, he says it's unclear whether the improvement is temporary or permanent. AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. overwhelmingly tend to be minor and short-lived, Iwasaki says she can sympathize with people like McClain. “They have already suffered so much from the long COVID that they are afraid that the vaccines might make their symptoms worse.” While surviving COVID seems to provide at least some long-term immunity, Iwasaki advises because it appears to add important additional protection “with respect to the levels of antibodies generated after the second shot." Iwasaki is now focused on generating hard data on the questions surrounding vaccination and long-hauler symptoms. She and the Yale School of Medicine research team are launching a data-driven study with members of the Survivor Corps to determine the effect of vaccination on people with long COVID by monitoring their symptoms pre- and post-vaccination and collecting blood samples to study their immune response at different stages. Goldsmith hopes the ongoing research will unravel the mystery of why the vaccination helps some people and not others. In the meantime, he's just glad it made a tremendous difference for him and his family. While he says the virus at first seemed to age him practically overnight, he notes, “Now I'm back to where age isn't something I think about that much.” More on health AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS