'COVID Vaccination Mitigates Post-Infection Mental Illness': FDA Biotech Office Founder

 Misguided COVID minimizers say COVID-19 is no worse than a cold that lasts a few days and disappears without a trace. They’re so wrong, and the evidence of that continues to mount.

In 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified the onset of new conditions after infection that “might be related to their previous COVID-19 illness.”

We’ve learned more from subsequent research. A study last year in the journal The Lancet Respiratory Medicine that examined the longer-term effects of COVID found that nearly a third of patients displayed abnormalities, some of which reflect tissue damage, in multiple organs five months after infection. Magnetic resonance imaging scans of patients showed a higher burden of abnormal findings involving the lungs, brain and kidneys. Lung abnormalities were almost 14-fold higher among COVID patients discharged from a hospital than in the control group. At the same time, abnormal findings involving the brain and kidneys were three and two times higher, respectively.

A more recent study by British researchers, published in JAMA Psychiatry in August, describes mental health sequelae of COVID-19 infection and illustrates the critical role vaccination plays in mitigating these effects. Encompassing 18 million people, it found that those who were unvaccinated and contracted severe COVID-19 have a significantly heightened risk of developing mental illnesses. That risk can persist for up to a year after infection.

The British study provides compelling evidence that the virus poses more than a short-term physical threat — it can leave lasting scars on mental health, especially for those who experience severe illness and hospitalization. The study tracked various mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, addiction, self-harm and suicide. The findings are alarming: The incidence of these conditions spiked in the weeks following a severe COVID diagnosis, particularly among the unvaccinated.

In unvaccinated individuals, the likelihood of developing depression after hospitalization for COVID was up to 16.3 times higher than in those who did not contract the virus. This elevated risk did not diminish with time. It persisted, often affecting mental health for up to a year after the initial diagnosis. The study’s results add to a growing body of evidence that underscores the severe and prolonged mental health effects of COVID, especially when compounded by the stress and trauma of a serious infection.

A significant finding of the study is the protective effect of COVID vaccination against the effects on mental health. The researchers found that vaccinated individuals who contracted COVID-19 were far less likely to develop mental illnesses than their unvaccinated counterparts. This difference was particularly pronounced in cases of severe illness leading to hospitalization.

For example, while the incidence of depression and other serious mental health conditions surged in unvaccinated individuals following a severe illness, vaccinated people had significantly lower rates of post-infection mental illness, with some conditions showing nearly negligible elevation above baseline, compared to those who had not been vaccinated.

This stark contrast highlights vaccination as a crucial tool not just in preventing severe physical illness, hospitalization and death but in safeguarding mental health in the aftermath of a COVID infection.

The implications of these findings are critical for public health strategies and individuals’ decision-making moving forward. As we continue to grapple with the long-term consequences of the pandemic, understanding the broader effects of COVID on mental health becomes increasingly important.

Serious mental illnesses, such as those linked to severe COVID, can be associated with longer-term adverse outcomes and the need for intensive healthcare, and mitigating these risks through vaccination could relieve some of the burdens on healthcare systems already stretched thin.

The findings of the British study serve as a reminder of the multifaceted effect of COVID-19. It’s not just about surviving the virus; it’s about understanding and addressing the long-term consequences. Vaccination is more important than ever, a shield not just against the physical ravages of the virus but against the insidious mental health challenges that can follow in its wake. Getting one of the approved COVID vaccine boosters should be on everyone’s to-do list.

Henry I. Miller, a physician and molecular biologist, is the Glenn Swogger Distinguished Fellow at the American Council on Science and Health. He was the founding director of the FDA’s Office of Biotechnology. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.

https://dcjournal.com/covid-vaccination-mitigates-post-infection-mental-illness/