Covid jab could ‘cure’ long-Covid as third of sufferers see symptoms disappear

CORONAVIRUS vaccines could “cure” people suffering with long-Covid as over a third of sufferers have seen their symptoms disappear after having the jab, new figures have revealed.

New data offers hope to hundreds of thousands of people who have been battling debilitating symptoms months after being diagnosed with Covid-19.

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A poll conducted by the Survivor Corps Facebook group found that 39 per cent of long haulers who have had a vaccine witnessed mild to full resolution of their lingering symptoms.

So far in the UK over 32.9 million people have received a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, with over 10.1 million now having had a second.

Many people suffering from long-Covid had been concerned that their symptoms would worsen after the vaccine.

Long-Covid is a term that describes a range of debilitating symptoms that people suffer months after first having developed Covid-19.

Just last month it was reported that the vaccines ease the symptoms for people who are suffering with long-Covid.

Dr David Strain, a clinical senior lecturer at the University of Exeter who runs long Covid clinics and is a member of the NHS taskforce on the condition, told: “We are getting people reporting improvements, and it’s quite widespread, about half of the people we are asking. 

“There is a major reporting bias, though – the people who notice something remarkable are the ones shouting about it.

“This provides a bit of hope for people who have been struggling with this for 12 months or more, just to feel better for a bit. But also as researchers it tells us a lot of information: does this give us clues about how we should be treating it? We need to look very carefully,” he said.

Data from the Survivors Corp poll showed that 46 per cent of people said their symptoms remained the same after the jab, with 14 per cent claiming they felt worse.

However this could be down to immediate side effects of the vaccine which can include pain at the site of injections, tiredness and muscle aches.

One woman who suffers with long-Covid said receiving the jab had been a “miracle”.

Kimberly Willis-Rinaldi had been suffering with severe fatigue after having previously contracted the coronavirus in March 2020.

Speaking to she said: “The viral conjunctivitis specifically in my right eye is gone. The rash that was on my back and on my arms and my neck, that’s gone.

“I was having these excruciating pains in my back and in my lungs.”

She added that her extreme episodes of fatigue had also now stopped.

One expert said that the reason some long-Covid sufferers could be getting respite from their ongoing symptoms is due to the fact that some pieces of the virus could “hide in the body”.

Dr. Akiko Iwasaki, professor of immunobiology at the Yale School of Medicine said vaccines are able to deploy  robust antibody and T-cell responses.

These, she explains, can help clear away any parts of the virus that have been lingering in the body.

Another explanation is that the vaccine can help “reset” the immune system, which is thought to be damaged from Covid and unable to return to normal.

Professor Ian Hall, who runs a long Covid clinic in Nottingham, says it’s possible that being vaccinated gives some people a “psychological boost” that causes them to feel better – a bit like the “placebo effect”. 

Up to one in ten people who have tested positive have Covid symptoms 12 weeks later, according to the Office for National Statistics.

It goes up to one in five when considering those who are still sick five weeks after infection.

Long Covid affects not only those who were in hospital with severe disease, but those who had only a mild infection.

People who were relatively fit, healthy and young when they caught the coronavirus are still suffering the effects months later.