Vaccination after developing long COVID: Impact on clinical presentation, viral persistence, and immune responses

• Published in: International journal of infectious diseases 2023-11, Vol.136, p.136-145
• Main Authors: Nayyerabadi, Maryam, Fourcade, Lyvia, Joshi, Swarali A., Chandrasekaran, Prabha, Chakravarti, Arpita, Massé, Chantal, Paul, Marie-Lorna, Houle, Joanie, Boubekeur, Amina M., DuSablon, Charlotte, Boudreau, Valérie, Bovan, Danijela, Darbinian, Emma, Coleman, Emilia Aïsha, Vinci, Sandra, Routy, Jean-Pierre, Hétu, Pierre-Olivier, Poudrier, Johanne, Falcone, Emilia Liana
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Inflammation; Long COVID; Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC); Post-COVID-19 conditions (PCC); Vaccination; Viral persistence
• ISSN: 1201-9712; 1878-3511
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2023.09.006

•COVID-19 vaccination post-COVID-19 conditions (PCC) reduced the number of symptoms and increased well-being.•COVID-19 vaccination post-PCC down-regulated systemic markers of inflammation.•COVID-19 vaccination post-PCC did not abrogate the persistence of viral products.•A viral reservoir not cleared by one or two vaccine doses may persist. Vaccination protects against severe COVID-19 manifestations. For those with post-COVID-19 conditions (PCC) or long COVID, the impact of COVID-19 vaccination on the evolution of symptoms, immune responses, and viral persistence is unclear. In this prospective observational cohort study, we evaluated the number of PCC symptoms, affected organ systems, and psychological well-being scores before and after patients with PCC received COVID-19 vaccination. We simultaneously evaluated biomarkers of systemic inflammation and levels of plasma cytokines/chemokines. We measured plasma and intracellular levels of SARS-CoV-2 antigens, and immunoreactivity to SARS-CoV-2 antigens in blood. COVID-19 vaccination was associated with decreases in number of PCC symptoms (pre-vaccination: 6.56 ± 3.1 vs post-vaccination: 3.92 ± 4.02; P