COVID-19 vaccination and patient-reported health one year after SARS-CoV-2 infection
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: COVID-19 vaccination reduces the risk of symptom-defined post-COVID syndrome (PCS), but its association with patient-perceived health and health-related quality of life remains insufficiently understood. We aimed to evaluate the association between pre-infection vaccination and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) across multiple health domains. We analyzed data from the prospective nationwide German NAPKON cohort, including adults infected with SARS-CoV-2 between July 2020 and May 2023. PROMs were assessed over 12 months and included EQ-5D-5L , PHQ-4 , PROMIS Cognitive Function , PROMIS-29 , and PROMIS Global . Associations with vaccination status were estimated using multivariable linear regression models. Among 2,680 COVID-19 patients in the NAPKON cohort, 660 adults with documented vaccination status were included; 464 (70.3%) were unvaccinated, 91 (13.8%) fully vaccinated (2 doses), and 105 (15.9%) booster vaccinated (≥ 3 doses). WHO-defined symptom-based PCS was more frequent in unvaccinated patients (70.7%) than in fully vaccinated (45.6%) and booster vaccinated patients (52.4%). In adjusted analyses, booster vaccination was associated with better EQ-5D-VAS at end-of-acute COVID-19 (β = 10.72, 95% CI 1.55 to 19.90). At 3 and 12 months, between-group differences were small and no longer significant after adjustment, while selected within-person changes were greater among unvaccinated patients. Using multiple validated PROM domains, this exploratory study provides a patient-centered perspective on vaccination-related post-COVID recovery, showing limited, domain-specific differences that largely attenuated by 12 months. Larger within-person improvements among unvaccinated patients may reflect poorer post-acute health status. Generalizability to the broader population, particularly individuals with mild COVID-19, is limited by the predominantly hospitalized cohort (85%); nevertheless, these findings suggest that symptom-based PCS definitions alone may insufficiently capture patient-perceived health burden, supporting PROMs as complementary measures in post-COVID research and care. Trial registration : NAPKON is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier NCT04768998).
Source: Scientific Reports
Authors: Christian Förster, Hendrik Napierala, Anne Schrimpf, Stefanie Joos, Sabine Blaschke, Frank Hanses, Raja Idris, Eckard Hamelmann, Jeremy Schmidt, Christian S. Scheer, Christoph Römmele, Marcel Vetter, Siri Göpel, Maher Almahfoud, Edgar Dahl, Axel Hamprecht, Anette Friedrichs, Jana Butzmann, Johanna Erber, Thomas Lücke, Julia Wendel, Björn-Erik Ole Jensen, Phil-Robin Tepasse, Hiwa Dashti, J. Janne Vehreschild, Margarete Scherer, Lazar Mitrov, Isabel Bröhl, Shimita Raquib, Carolin Nürnberger, Jens-Peter Reese, Katharina S. Appel, Ramsia Geisler, Thomas Illig, Dagmar Krefting, Tanja Kraus, the NAPKON Study Group
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Neurology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,690
OpenAlex ID: W7225663682