Despite the Covid-19 pandemic being officially over in the United Kingdom, the virus is unlikely to ever go away and we're encouraged to treat it like similar illnesses. Especially if you're individually vulnerable.
And now, potential extra health benefits have been discovered in relation to getting vaccinated against the SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Since its first outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the coronavirus disease caused a series of global lockdowns over the space of two years.
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The UK itself entered three national lockdowns, with a series of targeted, local restrictions also brought in by the government.
We couldn't see our loved ones, working from home became the norm, and the concept of going on holiday - whether for a week in the sun or weekend in the Lake District - was out of the question.
The pandemic officially began on 11 March, 2020, before the World Health Organisation (WHO) ended it more than three years later on 5 May last year. More than seven million people lost their lives worldwide as a result.
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And now, almost one year since the pandemic was ended, the importance of keeping vaccinated against Covid-19 is high with new benefits discovered by scientists.
Research from scientists at the UK's Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS) indicates specific health risks for those with a Covid vaccine compared to those without.
Led by Professor Daniel Prieto Alhambra, the observational study reveals found the vaccines are highly effective in reducing the severity of acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, COVID-19-related hospital admission and death.
And while some vaccines were associated with an increased risk of rare but serious complications, such as blood clots and heart inflammation, the risk of these complications was substantially higher after contracting Covid in the first place.
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Ultimately, the study found that getting a Covid vaccine meant you had reduced risk of heart failure, venous thromboembolism (clot within the veins of a limb) and arterial thrombosis/thromboembolism (blood clot in the artery) for up to a year after getting the virus.
Reduced risk of other complications, such as ventricular arrhythmia or cardiac arrest / heart attack, myocarditis and pericarditis were also seen, but only in the first 30 days after infection.
Nuria Mercade Besora, Research Assistant in Health Data Sciences at NDORMS and first author of the paper said: "Our findings probably reflect the fact that the vaccines are effective in reducing infection, and minimise the risk of severe COVID-19.
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"These results could encourage COVID-19 vaccination among hesitant people who are worried about the potential risk of vaccine side effects."
Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Images/BAY ISMOYO/AFP via Getty ImagesTopics: Coronation, UK News, Health, World News, US News, Science