Project #149:
Descriptive cohort analysis of Long COVID and vaccination status

There are an estimated 2.1 million people in the UK with long COVID as of January 2023 according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). In the absence of effective treatments for Long COVID, it is important to understand the possible effect of vaccination on reducing the burden of Long COVID.

Previous research using OpenSAFELY has found fewer records of Long COVID in primary care data when compared to the ONS estimates of the amount of Long COVID in the UK. Our study aims to provide a description of people with and without a record of Long COVID between 2020 and 2022, broken down by vaccination status of individuals. For those with a Long COVID diagnosis before vaccinations were available, we will also describe the proportion vaccinated in this group.

This descriptive study will provide a detailed description of those with and without a record of Long COVID in electronic health records to guide and motivate future observational research of the condition.