COVID-19 Vaccination Linked to Lower Risk of Persistent Post–COVID Condition
A large cohort study conducted in Stockholm, Sweden and published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, found that COVID-19 vaccination was associated with a reduced risk of developing persistent post–COVID condition (PCC) among individuals who survived at least 1 year following SARS-CoV-2 infection. Among more than 330,000 individuals included in the analysis, those who received two or more vaccine doses had markedly lower risks of persistent PCC compared with unvaccinated individuals.
Persistent PCC, often referred to as long COVID, presents a significant public health burden, affecting quality of life and increasing healthcare utilization. While prior research has suggested that vaccination may lower the risk of PCC, evidence from large population-based cohorts with extended follow-up has been limited. This study aimed to clarify the relationship between COVID-19 vaccination and persistent PCC among individuals surviving the critical first year after infection.
Researchers analyzed data from 331,042 individuals in the Stockholm region who had a confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and survived for at least one year. Of these, 852 individuals were identified as having persistent PCC. The team used adjusted relative risk models to estimate the association between vaccine dose and PCC risk, comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.
Compared with unvaccinated individuals, the adjusted relative risk (RR) for developing persistent PCC was 0.81 (95% CI, 0.59–1.10) for those who had received one dose of vaccine, 0.42 (95% CI, 0.35–0.52) for two doses, and 0.37 (95% CI, 0.27–0.52) for three doses. These associations remained consistent in subgroup analyses stratified by sex, age, and history of prior infection, and across periods dominated by both pre-Omicron and Omicron variants.
“Reduced risks for vaccinated individuals were also observed when restricting the analyses to pre-Omicron and Omicron, as well as all subgroups including sex, age, and previous infection,” the authors concluded.
Reference
Hedberg P, van der Werff SD, Nauclér P. The effect of COVID-19 vaccination on the risk of persistent post COVID-19 condition: Cohort study. J Infect Dis. 2025:jiaf133. doi:10.1093/infdis/jiaf133