Post-COVID recovery is faster after an infection with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant: a population-based cohort study
Laura R Pfrommer, Sophie Diexer, Bianca Klee, Janka Massag, Cornelia Gottschick, Oliver Purschke, Mascha Binder, Thomas Frese, Matthias Girndt, Daniel Sedding, Jonas Rosendahl, Jessica I. Hoell, Irene Moor, Michael Gekle, Christine Allwang, Florian Junne, Rafael Mikolajczyk
Abstract
PURPOSE: Post-COVID-19 condition (PCC) poses a substantial burden to affected individuals, health care systems, and society as a whole. We examined factors associated with recovery from PCC, focusing on the vaccination status prior to infection and the virus variant. METHODS: Our analyses are based on the population-based cohort study for digital health research in Germany (DigiHero). Respondents who reported a SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-related symptoms ≥ 12 weeks post-infection were classified as having PCC. Those with ongoing PCC were followed-up in six-month intervals based on their date of infection. We used a Cox model for interval-censored data to analyze PCC recovery. RESULTS: Among the 4,529 respondents with PCC included in our analyses, about 26%, 19%, 36%, and 44% of those infected during dominance of the SARS-CoV-2 wildtype, Alpha, Delta, and Omicron variant had recovered one year after infection, respectively. When stratifying by virus variant, vaccination was not associated with a faster recovery. Conversely, those infected with Omicron (HR = 2.20; 95%CI: 1.96-2.48) or Delta (HR = 1.69; 95%CI: 1.43-2.01) recovered faster than those infected with the SARS-CoV-2 wildtype or Alpha strain. CONCLUSION: Although the recovery from PCC is faster for the newer virus variants, still a substantial fraction of those who developed PCC after an infection with the Omicron variant report prolonged persistence of symptoms.