Some people experience long-term fatigue complaints after a corona infection. With the rise of the omicron variant, the chance of long-term fatigue complaints after a corona infection has decreased. This is evident from a large study by the RIVM that examined fatigue before and after an infection.
Fatigue before and after a corona infection
Some people experience long-term complaints after a corona infection. This is also referred to as long COVID or post-COVID. One of the most common complaints after a corona infection is fatigue, but fatigue is also common in the general population. This study only looked at fatigue and not other post-COVID complaints.
Of about 23,000 participants in the Vaccination Study Corona (VASCO) who underwent a corona infection between July 2021 and March 2024, researchers looked at how fatigued they were before, during, and up to 9 months after the infection. How did this fatigue change? Did these complaints return to the same level as before the infection, and how long did that take?
Difference in Infections with omicron or delta
At the time of an infection with the coronavirus, there was a clear increase in fatigue compared to before the infection. In the first 90 days after infection, it also decreased significantly. Notably, in people infected with the delta variant, fatigue remained elevated for up to 270 days post-infection compared to fatigue levels before the infection. In the case of an infection with the omicron variant, this was 120 days.
The increase in fatigue at the time of infection was highest among those aged 60-85, individuals without underlying diseases, and those who were unvaccinated. For individuals infected with the delta variant, this increase during the infection was also greater than in an infection with the omicron variant.
Researchers looked at the average change in fatigue among participants. This means that participants were, on average, back to their pre-infection fatigue levels 120 days after an omicron infection. This does not mean that there arent individuals who may experience longer-lasting fatigue.
Vaccination before infection
The study found no difference in long-term increased fatigue between people who were vaccinated or unvaccinated before infection. However, because vaccination prevents (severe) infections, it indirectly reduces the chance of long-term fatigue complaints after a corona infection.
Read the scientific article Prospective cohort study of fatigue before and after SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Netherlands (external link) with all results from this research.