Consequences of Contracting COVID-19 or Taking the COVID-19 Vaccine for Individuals with a History of Lyme Disease

Abstract

Individuals with Lyme disease can be very symptomatic. This survey compares the burden of illness for individuals with a history of Lyme disease (HLD) with individuals with a HLD who have either contracted COVID-19 or who have taken the COVID-19 vaccine. The findings describe the relative symptom burden among these three groups using a cross-sectional descriptive survey investigating the burden of Lyme disease in a pandemic. The survey includes the General Symptom Questionnaire-30 (GSQ-30), a brief self-report scale designed to assess the symptom burden in Lyme disease (LD). The results of this survey show that the overall burden of illness among individuals with HLD is not significantly different after contracting COVID-19 or after COVID-19 vaccination. A new survey will be needed to better understand why one in five individuals with a HLD reported long COVID after contracting COVID-19. These results should help clinicians and their patients to discuss the consequences of contracting a COVID-19 infection or being vaccinated against COVID-19.