A new study from the NIH-funded RECOVER Initiative shows that adolescents vaccinated against COVID-19 are significantly less likely to develop long COVID after their first SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to those who are unvaccinated. This is the first study to examine the secondary benefits of vaccination in adolescents beyond reducing the severity of initial symptoms.
Vaccination Offers Important Secondary Protection
“These findings provide evidence that COVID-19 vaccination has an important secondary effect in helping mitigate the risk of long COVID in adolescents,” said Melissa Stockwell, a pediatrician at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and clinical senior author of the study.
As per the Columbia University Press release, the RECOVER team estimates that long COVID has affected approximately 5.8 million young people across the United States. Common symptoms include persistent fatigue, muscle and joint pain, and memory difficulties. Although earlier research confirmed that vaccination lowers long COVID risk in adults, data for adolescents remained limited until now.
Study Design and Key Findings
The study included more than 1,200 adolescents from across the U.S. Of these, 724 had received a COVID-19 vaccine within six months prior to their first infection, while 507 were unvaccinated. The results showed that over 20% of unvaccinated adolescents developed long COVID, compared with about 13% of vaccinated adolescents. This difference represents a 36% reduction in long COVID risk following COVID-19 vaccination.
Connecting to Broader Research
This study builds on previous RECOVER findings, including research identifying the most common long COVID symptoms in children and teenagers—work that could improve diagnosis and treatment for millions.
Real-World Impact on Adolescents
“Every day, our study sees young people who are unable to fully participate in the activities they enjoy while they deal with long COVID symptoms,” Stockwell said. She added that while the study did not assess the impact of vaccination on subsequent infections, the evidence strongly suggests that vaccination may help adolescents recover more fully and return to normal activities sooner.