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Study: even mild Covid infections cause immune system damage [1]

['Jennifer Sandlin']

Date: 2025-04-08

The findings of a new research study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases reveal that those testing positive for COVID-19 are at a higher risk of being diagnosed with other (non-SARS-CoV-2) infections for at least a year—even if the initial infection is mild. Findings also showed that those hospitalized for COVID-19 had a greater chance of developing other infections in the following year than those hospitalized for influenza.

The authors of the study represent scientists and physicians from the VA St. Louis Health Care System, the Veterans Research and Education Foundation of St. Louis, and the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and include Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, a leading COVID-19 and long COVID researcher who is Chief of Research and Development, VA St. Louis Health Care System and Clinical Epidemiologist at Washington University in St. Louis.

The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota (CIDRAP) provides an overview of some of the main findings:

Compared with the test-negative control group, participants with a positive COVID-19 test who were not admitted had significantly increased rates of outpatient diagnosis of bacterial, fungal, and viral infectious illnesses (risk ratio [RR], 1.17; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.15 to 1.19), outpatient respiratory infections (RR, 1.46), and admission to hospital for infectious illnesses (RR, 1.41), including for sepsis and respiratory infections. Those data translate to increased risk of 17%, 46%, and 41%, respectively. Overall, non-hospitalized COVID patients had higher rates in 32% of the 65 laboratory-based outcomes compared to those who tested negative for SARS-CoV-2. That rate jumped in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, who had higher rates of positive results in 71% of the examined laboratory tests, after accounting for multiple comparisons with the COVID-negative cohort.

Here's part of the study's abstract:

In the 12 months of follow-up, compared with participants who had a negative test for COVID-19, people with COVID-19 who did not require admission to hospital during the acute phase of infection had increased test positivity rates for bacterial infections (in blood, urine, and respiratory cultures) and viral diseases (including Epstein–Barr virus, herpes simplex virus reactivation, and respiratory viral infections). People who were positive for COVID-19 and admitted to hospital also had increased rates of bacterial infections in blood, respiratory, and urine biospecimens, and viral infections in blood and respiratory biospecimens. Analyses of prespecified outcomes showed that, compared with the test-negative control group, participants with a positive COVID-19 test who were not admitted to hospital had significantly increased rates of outpatient diagnosis of infectious illnesses (RR 1·17 [95% CI 1·15–1·19]), including bacterial, fungal, and viral infections; outpatient respiratory infections (1·46 [1·43–1·50]); and admission to hospital for infectious illnesses (1·41 [1·37–1·45]), including for sepsis and respiratory infections; the rates of prespecified outcomes were generally higher among those who were admitted to hospital for COVID-19 during the acute phase. Compared with people admitted to hospital for seasonal influenza, those admitted for COVID-19 had higher rates of admission to hospital for infectious illnesses (1·24 [1·10–1·40]), admission to hospital for sepsis (RR 1·35 [1·11–1·63]), and in-hospital use of antimicrobials (1·23 [1·10–1·37]).

While this current study provides more evidence of the "putative long-term effects of COVID-19 on the immune system and the propensity for infection with other pathogens," Dr. Al-Aly and his co-authors conclude that this connection should be "further evaluated in future studies."

I don't know about you, but I, for one, already have more than enough convincing data showing that COVID-19 causes short and long-term negative impacts on the immune system (and so many other bodily systems). While I'm certainly in favor of more research to further understand these connections, I am already confident that masking and avoiding infection continue to be the smart things to do! Stay safe, happy mutants!

Read the full study here.

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