There are growing reports from people with ‘long haul’ COVID-19 syndrome that their symptoms finally began to lift after getting the vaccine.
“Survivor Corps found that about 40% of their patients are feeling better after the vaccine, and I’ve also seen similar reports from the UK and other groups,” said Dr. Akiko Iwasaki, Professor of Immunobiology and Epidemiology at Yale University School of Medicine.
“So we don’t exactly know how and how much the vaccines are helping, but there are enough reports out there that it’s really making us think that there’s something real there.”
Dr. Iwasaki is working on an observational study tracking long haul patients before and after they receive the vaccines in order to look for correlations between changes in their immune system and the severity of their symptoms.
She says patients are reporting improvements in many ways.
“It varies. Some people are telling me that their brain fog has lifted, they can think clearer now, they can drive, they can walk, they can exercise, their shortness of breath has been removed, their ability to remember things; lots of good things are happening.”
Not every patient sees improvements, but Dr. Iwasaki says her study should also shed light on the possible cause of long haul symptoms, which will also help devise treatments for people whose symptoms persist even after the vaccine.
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