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Exploring the Interplay: COVID-19 Vaccination's Influence on Long-term Symptoms and Quality of Life in Post-COVID Recovery

1,2★, 3, 4, 2, 1★★ Corresponding author

  1. 1Department of Pharmacy Practice, Sri Adichunchanagiri College of Pharmacy, Adichunchanagiri University, B. G. Nagara, Karnataka, INDIA.
  2. 2Department of Pharmacy Practice, Seven Hills College of Pharmacy (Autonomous), Venkatramapuram, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, INDIA.
  3. 3Department of Emergency Medicine, Sapthagiri Medical College and Research Centre, Bangalore, Karnataka, INDIA.
  4. 4Dr. Chandramma Dayananda Sagar Institue of Medical Education and Research, Dayananda Sagar University, Harohalli, Karnataka, INDIA.

CORRESPONDENCE

Yogendra Shrestha

Department of Pharmacy Practice, Sri Adichunchanagiri College of Pharmacy, Adichunchanagiri University, B. G. Nagara, Karnataka, INDIA.

Received: 12-01-2024; Revised: 19-01-2024; Accepted: 25-08-2024.

Volume 16, Issue 4 · pp. 830-839 · 2026 · DOI: 10.5530/jyp.2024.16.106

ABSTRACT

Background: More than the newly diagnosed COVID-19, healthcare systems are increasingly dealing with the complex long-term health consequences of individuals who have not entirely recovered from the SARS-CoV-2 infection. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of long-term COVID and the impact of COVID-19 vaccination on this prevalence and health-related quality of life during recovery.Materials and Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted with 624 individuals who had recovered from COVID-19. Demographic information, vaccination status, Long-COVID symptoms, and health-related quality of life were collected. Follow-up assessments were conducted at 6-month and 12-month intervals.Results: The prevalence of ongoing symptomatic COVID-19 manifestations was 87.3%. Cough was the most frequently reported complaint, affecting 64.3% of the participants. The prevalence of post-COVID syndrome decreased to 72.1% at 6 months and remained at 73.9% at 12 months, with fatigue (18.6%) and headaches (20.8%) being the most frequently reported symptoms, respectively. At one month, six months, and twelve months after COVID-19 recovery, the average health-related quality of life for individuals was measured to be 0.90 ± 0.13, 0.93 ± 0.11, and 0.94 ± 0.1, respectively. Long-COVID were more prevalent in vaccinated individuals (74.5%) compared to non-vaccinated (69.6%). The health-related quality of life was significantly lower in those who had received the COVID-19 vaccine compared to unvaccinated individuals (0.94 ± 0.1 vs. 0.96 ± 0.07).Conclusion: Long-term COVID symptoms decreased, and health-related quality of life improved during recovery. However, COVID-19 vaccination was associated with increased Long-term COVID prevalence and lower health-related quality of life.

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    Shrestha, Y., Jain, K., Doddasamiah, P., Joseph, S., & Venkataraman, R. (2026). Exploring the Interplay: COVID-19 Vaccination's Influence on Long-term Symptoms and Quality of Life in Post-COVID Recovery. Journal of Young Pharmacists, 16(4), 830-839. https://doi.org/10.5530/jyp.2024.16.106

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    © 2026 Author(s)

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as the author is credited and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0