National COVID-19 vaccination efforts are failing. Last year only 22% of adults received the latest COVID booster, which is less than half the flu vaccination rate – even if COVID is twice as deadly.
Amid growing concerns about the effects of long COVID and anticipation of a likely increase in infections this winter from an even more contagious variant, we need more effective public health messaging to encourage vaccination.
There has been a lot of talk about the consequences of COVID across the country. health, productivity and the economy. But recent research suggests a compelling new basis for vaccine advocacy: COVID’s ability to reduce intelligence.
Using data from more than 100,000 people who took online tests in England, the authors of a study published by the New England Journal of Medicine found that people who recovered from COVID, including those who did not have only mild symptoms, had measurable cognitive deficits. Even participants who had “mild COVID-19 with resolved symptoms” had deficits”corresponding to an IQ loss of 3 points» compared to uninfected participants.
Cognitive loss was more pronounced in those who had more severe infections. Participants who had long COVID – that is, with symptoms that lasted more than 12 weeks – had on average the equivalent of an IQ loss of 6 points, and those who had been “admitted to the unit intensive care had the equivalent of an IQ loss of 9 points. loss of points.
The results of the study, supported by those of a previous study observational study in Norway, are not widely known. Yes, many people know that COVID infections can cause short-term “brain fog,” but these studies raise the prospect of cognitive deficits that can last for years. This suggests yet another reason to get vaccinated: it can protect your intellect.
Many people view their ability to reason as an essential aspect of their identity; This is one of the reasons why the prospect of dementia is so frightening. This research suggests that getting your booster could be a way to preserve this ability and promote brain health. If you want to continue solving Wordle or the Saturday crossword, you have another reason to get boosted.
This message is particularly important for younger populations who perceive themselves to be less at risk. These findings highlight that COVID-19 is not just another flu; its potential to cause lasting cognitive impairment is too great to ignore. Young people, whose more active social lives are often the cause of the spread of COVID, can protect not only their health but also their intelligence and their future by getting vaccinated.
Many young people accept the risk of infection because of their good physical health, but underestimate the potential of the virus to cause long-term neurological damage. The fact that even mild cases of COVID can cause such significant harm could help challenge the current complacency around vaccination.
Public health messages regarding vaccination have often focused on help othersespecially the elderly. And it is: A study published by the Lancet Last year, it was found that every 150 people who received a booster avoided an emergency room visit for COVID. But while it feels good to do something for others, research suggests that self-interest is a stronger motivator, especially since injections are often accompanied by short-term pain, fever and dizziness. other symptoms as our immune system intensifies in response. Such disadvantages seem like a small price to pay for the valuable benefit of intelligence preservation.
We should emphasize cognitive health consequences, not to promote fear of illness, but to foster an informed understanding of it. There is still much we don’t know about the long-term consequences of COVID on cognitive function and whether they will persist as new. variants emerge. But we know enough to get the public thinking about not only surviving the virus, but thriving after recovering.
We now have data that highlights the unforeseen risks of the virus that should be particularly alarming for young people who place a high value on their mental acuity. This should further motivate us to strengthen our community defenses against this dreaded disease.
It is of course wise to be fully vaccinated: that is why more than 95% of a group that knows COVID better than most – doctors – are getting vaccinated. But vaccination can also help keep you are smart. We should all keep this in mind when deciding whether or not to receive our COVID boosters this fall.
Ian Ayres is a professor at Yale Law School. Lisa Sanders is a professor at Yale School of Medicine and director of the Yale Multidisciplinary Long-Care Covid Center.
