The COVID-19 pandemic has entered a phase where many people are returning to pre-pandemic activities and behaviors. The likelihood of hospitalization and death has diminished dramatically for most people – though the risks remain for the elderly and immunocompromised. However, risks of long COVID remain real and have serious implications for you and your employees.
Here are answers to some of the frequently asked questions you might have about long COVID:
What is long COVID?
How many people infected with COVID-19 will go on to get long COVID?
Is there a test for long COVID?
Who is at highest risk for long COVID?
If I get long COVID, how long will I have it for?
Is there a medication to treat long COVID?
Where can individuals get support and help for long COVID in the U.S.?
Can anything prevent long COVID?
Is long COVID a disability?
What is the impact of long COVID on the workforce?
What research is being conducted on long COVID in the U.S.?
Implications for employers:
Omicron strains BA.4 and BA.5 now represent over half of all new U.S. infections. These variants have higher levels of “immune escape” than previous variants, meaning prior infection or vaccination is less protective against them. Also the two latest Omicron variants are about 20% more contagious than previous strains. These variants are one reason why U.S. case rates remain relatively unchanged over recent weeks.
One of the promises of mRNA vaccines is the ability to create new ones once the genetic changes in the virus are understood allowing for better protection against new variants. Yet while Pfizer and Moderna began research in early 2021 on vaccines for newer variants, there is still no vaccine targeted at new variants approved for widespread use.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may change that. An FDA advisory committee evaluated data from Moderna and Pfizer last week for new vaccines aimed to provide immunity against Omicron BA.1. Both pharmaceutical companies sought FDA authorization for vaccines designed for BA.1, but the advisory committee asked them to develop vaccines designed to produce immunity to the ancestral strain as well as BA.4 and BA.5. So far, BA.4 and BA.5 vaccines have only been tested on animals.
It feels like we are always behind the coronavirus – debating vaccines for BA.1 when that strain departed the global scene months ago. We know that BA.1 is much closer genetically to BA.4 and BA.5 than the ancestral strain that was used in the initial vaccine – and antibody studies suggest that both of these new variant vaccines increase immunity against BA.4 and BA.5 (the current threat), not just BA.1. So a booster against BA.1 available in the mid-fall could prevent more disease than a booster against BA.5 that is available much later, by which time BA.5 will likely have already been supplanted by a new variant.
This might tell us, though, that we need a different approach to updating vaccines. We can anticipate ongoing evolution of the coronavirus, so we will likely need ongoing changes in vaccine composition. This means not requiring full clinical trials, which we do not require for annual flu shot revisions.
We also have given second boosters to less than a third of those who are eligible for them, suggesting that better targeted vaccinations are just one small part of our problem. Vaccinations administered via the nose could be easier to administer and prevent respiratory infection – and could therefore be more effective at stopping waves of infections. And broader vaccinations that are aimed at all coronaviruses could get us off the treadmill of always being behind the virus when it comes to vaccination composition.
Implications for employers:
Jeff is an internal medicine physician and has led WTW’s clinical response to COVID-19 and other health-related topics. He has served in leadership roles in provider organizations and a health plan and is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Chan School of Public Health.
Patricia is a physician and infectious disease specialist who consults with employers to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of health care delivery. She has guest lectured at Harvard Medical School and currently develops pandemic responses and programs to address chronic conditions.