Publication date: Sep 22, 2023

We determined whether COVID-19 vaccination was associated with Quality of Life (QoL) changes among individuals previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 in Israel. Using a validated questionnaire, we collected information about socio-demographics, SARS-CoV-2 infection, COVID-19 vaccination and QoL (using the EQ-5D-5L tool) 3-18 months post-infection among adults tested for SARS-CoV-2 by polymerase chain reaction in Northern Israel between March 2020-June 2022. We compared post-COVID QoL between those vaccinated against COVID-19 at the time of infection and those not, using an adjusted linear regression model, stratified by time elapsed since infection. Of 951 participants, mean EQ-5D Utility Index (EQ-5D UI) was 0. 82 (SD = 0. 26) and 0. 83 (SD = 0. 25) among the 227 double and 250 triple vaccinated respectively, compared to 0. 76 (SD = 0. 33) among those who received 0 dose (n = 243). The size of the effect of vaccination was small (Cohen’s d = 0. 2). In the adjusted model, previously infected individuals vaccinated with two or more doses reported a QoL score post- infection 0. 05 points higher (CI = 0. 01-0. 10, p = 0. 02) compared with those unvaccinated when infected. No association between vaccination and QoL was detected beyond 12 months post-infection. Vaccination with two or more doses of COVID19 vaccine, or at least the BNT162b2 vaccine, may modestly mitigate QoL losses associated with post-acute COVID-19 symptoms, at least in the first 12 months post-infection.

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