News Release 6-Nov-2025 COVID-19 vaccination lowers long COVID risk in adolescents Peer-Reviewed Publication Columbia University Irving Medical Center FacebookXLinkedInWeChatBlueskyMessageWhatsAppEmail Nov. 6, 2025--Adolescents who were vaccinated against COVID-19 were less likely to develop long COVID after their first SARS-CoV-2 infection than unvaccinated peers, finds a new study. The study, led by the NIH-funded RECOVER Initiative, is the first to examine the potential benefits of COVID vaccination in adolescents beyond lowering the severity of initial COVID symptoms. “These findings provide evidence that COVID vaccination has an important secondary effect in helping to mitigate the risk of long COVID in adolescents,” says Melissa Stockwell, a pediatrician at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and clinical senior author of the study.