Markers of immune activation and inflammation in individuals with post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection

Our laboratory scientists, working closely with our clinical scientists, measured markers of inflammation in the blood over 4 months following COVID-19. They were specifically looking at people with “long COVID” – symptoms that lasted at least 4 months following infection, in comparison to those who felt they had returned to normal.

Our scientists found small but significant differences in levels of certain inflammation markers in the blood of those who had “long COVID” compared to those who did not. This suggests that residual or ongoing activation of the immune system may be related to ongoing symptoms – although more work will be needed to be done to see if this is the case in other studies and what this finding could mean.