1 in 6 unvaccinated Covid-infected person found to feel effects up to 2 yrs

New Delhi: One in six unvaccinated individuals report experiencing COVID-19 health effects up to two years after infection, according to a new study published in The British Medical Journal.

The study from University of Zurich, Switzerland, and other institutes examined 1,106 unvaccinated adults with an average age of 50 with a confirmed infection between 6 August, 2020, and 19 January, 2021, were studied, along with 628 adults (average age 65) randomly selected from the general population who had not had the virus. 17 per cent of participants did not return to normal health and 18 per cent reported COVID-19 related symptoms 24 months after initial infection, the study found.

Overall, 55 per cent of the participants reported returning to their normal health in less than a month after infection, while 18 per cent reported recovery within one to three months. At six months, 23 per cent of the participants to be unrecovered, a number that reduced to 19 per cent at 12 months and 17 per cent at 24 months.

Compared with people who did not have an infection, those with COVID-19 were found to have excess risks for both physical problems, such as altered taste or smell (9.8 per cent), malaise after exertion (9.4 per cent), and shortness of breath (7.8 per cent), and mental health issues, such as reduced concentration (8.3 per cent)

and anxiety (4 per cent) at month six.