According to a UK report, some former COVID-19 patients who still had long-term health problems have reported that their symptoms temporarily diminished after receiving the coronavirus vaccine.
Anecdotal reports show that between 20 and 50 percent of patients find that their symptoms (which mainly include fatigue, headaches, and brain fog) facilitate vaccination, according to the Telegraph.
“We’re getting people to report improvements, and it’s pretty widespread, about half of the people we ask for,” said Dr. David Strain, a senior clinical professor at the University of Exeter.
Lou Barnes, who leads a 4,000-person support group called Post Covid Syndrome, estimated that about 20 percent of members reported some improvement after receiving the shot.
But many people said the improvements were temporary, lasted about three weeks, and others reported that they also felt worse for a short time, Barnes noted.
Strain, who runs a long-term COVID clinic and is a member of a National Health Service working group with the condition, said research was being set up to examine the reports.
“This provides some hope to people who have been struggling with this for 12 months or more, just to feel a little better,” he told the newspaper.
“But also, as researchers, it provides us with a lot of information: does this give us clues as to how we should treat it? We have to look very carefully, ”Strain said.
The doctor also noted that “there is a significant bias in reporting,” as “people who notice something remarkable are the ones who shout about it.”
Like Strain, Professor Danny Altmann, an immunologist at Imperial College London, said he was also in the process of researching the subject.
“It’s very interesting because we still have no idea what the mechanisms of long COVID are and what to do for patients, and also because a lot of patients are very anxious about their immune status,” Altmann said.
Professor Eleanor Riley, an immunologist at the University of Edinburgh, said the anecdotal reports were “interesting”, but warned that they should not be taken for granted before conducting research on the subject.
“I think it’s something that should be followed by scientific research,” Riley said. “I don’t think we have to jump to conclusions. It may be random. “