Long Covid Not Common Here Among Vaccinated Patients

Higher risk of ‘debilitating symptoms’ for unvaccinated individuals but more studies needed, say experts

- Cheryl Tan

Only a small number of vaccinated Covid-19 cases in Singapore have developed “long Covid” symptoms so far.

This is supported by overseas data showing that the risk of developing the condition could be reduced by half in vaccinated people.

Long Covid syndrome refers to residual symptoms that people continue to experience long after recovering from the disease.

These include fatigue, shortness of breath, chest pain, joint aches and “brain fog” – where one’s thinking is sluggish – which tend to last for four weeks or more.

However, the risk of developing long Covid could be reduced by half among vaccinated individuals compared with the unvaccinated, according to a study conducted in Britain, said Dr Barnaby Young, head of the National Centre for Infectious Diseases’ (NCID) Singapore Infectious Disease Clinical Research Network.

“This is an encouraging result, and I suspect it may even be an underestimate of the effectiveness of vaccination against long Covid symptoms, which are a direct result of a severe illness,” he said.

While there have certainly been cases of long Covid among vaccinated people overseas, the number of cases locally so far appears to be small, said Dr Young.