Vaccination against COVID-19 may help alleviate the risk for anxiety and depression in addition to protecting against serious illness from coronavirus infection according to new research.
A new paper from the University of Southern California and the RAND Corporation showed that scientists estimate that COVID-19 vaccination reduces anxiety and depression symptoms by nearly 30 percent.
They said the fear of testing positive among frontline workers and social isolation has taken an emotional toll.
The researchers noted larger reductions in anxiety or depression symptoms among individuals with lower education levels, who rent their homes, who are not able to work remotely, and who have children in their household.
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“We estimate that COVID-19 vaccination reduces anxiety and depression symptoms by nearly 30 percent,” they concluded. Fear of testing positive among frontline workers and social isolation has taken an emotional toll on millions of people.
The researchers noted larger reductions in anxiety or depression symptoms among individuals with lower education levels, who rent their homes, who are not able to work remotely, and who have children in their household.
“Nearly all the benefits are private benefits, and we find little evidence of spillover effects, that is, increases in community vaccination rates are not associated with improved anxiety or depression symptoms among the unvaccinated,” they added.
The World Health Organization says depression and anxiety cost the global economy $1 trillion every year in lost productivity, leading companies to improve their mental-health support services for workers.
People suffering from depression miss an average of 4.8 workdays and suffer 11.5 days of reduced productivity over a three-month period, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Researchers worldwide are investigating the causes and impacts of this stress, and some fear that the deterioration in mental health could linger long after the pandemic has subsided,” according to a commentary in the journal Nature.
“Scientists hope that they can use the mountains of data being collected in studies about mental health to link the impact of particular control measures to changes in people’s well-being, and to inform the management of future pandemics.”
Younger people, particularly young women and people with young children, are most vulnerable to increased psychological distress due to the pandemic, “perhaps because their need for social interactions are stronger,”
Vanguard
