Publication date: Jun 13, 2026
Some individuals infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 experience long-term symptoms, termed post COVID-19 condition (PCC). Pandemic-era studies have demonstrated moderate effectiveness of COVID-19-vaccines in preventing PCC. However, as population immunity has evolved and variant-adapted vaccines have been introduced, estimates of vaccine effectiveness and disease frequency from the post-pandemic era are needed to guide policy-making and communication. We investigated whether one mRNA COVID-19 vaccine dose during the 2023/2024 season was associated with reduced PCC risk in the following six months among adults aged ≥ 60 years in Germany. We conducted a retrospective cohort study using nationwide, outpatient claims data and performed descriptive and Poisson regression analyses. In our cohort of 19,121,674 patients, 3,437,701 (18. 0%) received one dose of a seasonal COVID-19 vaccine and 36,830 fulfilled the PCC case definition (incidence: 0. 2%). Vaccinated individuals were older (median age 75 years) compared to those who were not vaccinated (71 years), with a higher proportion being female (54% vs. 46% male). 0. 08% of vaccinated patients were diagnosed with PCC during study follow-up, compared to 0. 22% non-vaccinated. One vaccine dose was associated with lower risk (adjusted Risk Ratio 0. 37; 95% CI 0. 36-0. 39) of receiving a PCC diagnosis at six months post-vaccination compared to no vaccination, translating to a vaccine effectiveness of 63%. Our results demonstrate a low PCC-incidence and a strong protective association between seasonal COVID-19 vaccination and PCC during the first post-pandemic season. These findings can help improve acceptance of COVID-19-vaccines and support doctors’ and patients’ decision-making regarding vaccination.
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Semantics
| Type | Source | Name |
|---|---|---|
| disease | MESH | COVID-19 |
| disease | MESH | severe acute respiratory syndrome |
| drug | DRUGBANK | Factor IX Complex (Human) |
| disease | MESH | PCC |
| disease | MESH | Infectious Diseases |
| pathway | REACTOME | Reproduction |
| disease | MESH | included |
| disease | MESH | Long COVID |
| disease | MESH | infection |
| disease | MESH | dis |
| disease | MESH | ICD |
| disease | MESH | death |
| disease | MESH | Ger |
| disease | MESH | cancer |
| pathway | REACTOME | Immune System |
| disease | MESH | liver disease |
| disease | MESH | chronic diseases |
| drug | DRUGBANK | Indoleacetic acid |
| disease | MESH | char |
| disease | MESH | reinfections |
| disease | MESH | plan |
| drug | DRUGBANK | Fosfomycin |
| disease | MESH | FCM |
| drug | DRUGBANK | (S)-Des-Me-Ampa |
| drug | DRUGBANK | Varicella Zoster Vaccine (Live/Attenuated) |
| disease | MESH | influenza |
| drug | DRUGBANK | L-Tyrosine |