Dutch study finds long COVID risk has sharply fallen since pandemic’s early years
The risk of developing long-term symptoms after a COVID-19 infection has dropped sharply in the Netherlands, according to new research by the RIVM. The study shows that people infected with SARS-CoV-2 in 2023 were no more likely to report persistent health problems than people who never caught the virus.
The researcher's goal was to determine whether new SARS-CoV-2 infections still resulted in post—COVID—19, also known as Long COVID, as frequently as in earlier phases of the pandemic. An estimated 400,000 people in the Netherlands have experienced lingering symptoms after COVID-19, with about 100,000 still suffering from severe, long-term effects.
To do this, they compared two groups of more than 5,000 people each: one group that had COVID-19 in autumn 2023 and another that did not. Both groups regularly reported symptoms such as fatigue, difficulty with exertion, and concentration problems at three, six, nine, and twelve months.
The results showed that the number of people developing new or persistent symptoms was almost the same in both groups. People who had COVID-19 were slightly more likely to report ongoing symptoms in the first three to six months, but this difference disappeared after nine months.
According to RIVM researchers, widespread vaccination, previous infections, and changes in the virus itself likely explain the decline in long-term cases. “This is important news for people who get COVID-19 now,” the RIVM said in a statement. “The risk of post-COVID has become much lower.” However, the institute cautioned that post-COVID cannot be ruled out entirely.
