Consequences of COVID Illness Versus Vaccine for People with Lyme Disease

Antibiotics (Cameron, DJ and McWhinney, SR ) 3.1.2023, published “Consequences of Contracting COVID-19 or Taking the COVID-19 Vaccine for Individuals with a History of Lyme Disease”

This survey compared the burden of illness among three groups of individuals; individuals with a history of Lyme disease (HLD), individuals with HLD that experienced COVID-19 viral illness, and individuals with HLD that had been vaccinated against COVID-19. The survey conducted was the General Symptom Questionnaire-30 (GSQ-30) which is a self-report scale designed to assess the burden of symptoms in Lyme disease.

The results of the GSQ-30 showed that there was not a significant difference in the overall burden of illness for those with HLD after contracting COVID-19 or after COVID-19 vaccination. The results of the survey presents a need for further investigation to better understand why one in five individuals with HLD reported long COVID after contracting COVID-19 illness.

Results of this survey may assist in discussions between patients and clinicians when making decisions regarding the potential consequences of contracting a COVID-19 infection or the consequences of vaccination against COVID-19.

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Read the article on the Antibiotics website

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