Many of Hallek et al.’s arguments sound evidence-based, but are actually highly subjective.
Well under a quarter of persons reporting post-COVID symptoms (PCS) perceive them as debilitating (in fact, only 1.2–4.8%). The high spontaneous cure rate in the first weeks and months is not even mentioned (2). The statement that 15% of COVID infections are followed by PCS is thus misleading when presented in isolation.
Already in the abstract, the authors point out the existing knowledge gaps about this clinical entity. A recent study from Israel of persons with mild COVID-19 revealed only a mild disease burden from PCS, which, in most patients, resolved within a year of diagnosis. Moreover, many symptoms were no more prevalent in the study group than in the control group (3).
The box in the article (1) lists diabetes, hypertension, and the level of viral load as risk factors for post-COVID syndrome, yet this is not supported—and, in some cases, explicitly negated—by the cited references.
Much of the cited literature in the article refers to long-COVID syndrome (>4 weeks after infection) but is taken as evidence of post-COVID syndrome (PCS) (>12 weeks).
The studies of vaccination against COVID-19 in persons with PCS were all carried out in previously unvaccinated persons and are thus inapplicable to the current situation.
I would very much have liked to find answers in this article; instead, I only find more uncertainty.
Footnotes
Conflict of interest statement
TM is deputy section speaker (prevention) of the DEGAM and co-author of its S1 guideline on long COVID. He has received honoraria for lectures on long COVID from regional medical associations, insurance physician associations, and regional family physician associations.
References
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