Smartwatch Shows COVID-19 Vaccination Positive Impact

Researchers recently used data from smartwatches and fitness trackers to investigate whether vaccination produces measurable changes in personal health and well-being.

The Corona-Datenspende-App was launched in April 2020 and, as of April 2022, was still being used by 190,000 users in Germany, 120,000 of which were submitting daily data on resting heart rate, physical activity, and sleep duration.

In addition, the app collects optional survey data on diagnostic test results and vaccination data.

Announced on July 25, 2023, this data showed SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infections correlated with elevated heart rate, reduced activity, and increased sleep.

But vaccinated individuals had less extreme deviations from the average than unvaccinated individuals, suggesting that vaccinated people experienced less severe symptoms than unvaccinated people.

In unvaccinated individuals who contracted the betacoronavirus, average heart rate and activity levels did not return to normal for up to 11 weeks, compared to four weeks for vaccinated individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infections.

According to the study authors, the resting heart rate and step counts of unvaccinated COVID-19-positive individuals decrease the week before taking a PCR test, suggesting a possible role for wearable devices and health trackers as an early warning indicator of an incipient illness.

Our results solidify evidence that vaccines can mitigate long-term detrimental effects of SARS-CoV-2 infections both in terms of duration and magnitude.

Furthermore, the authors wrote that they demonstrate the value of large-scale, high-resolution wearable sensor data in public health research.

As of July 27, 2023, there are 12 COVID-19 vaccines Listed by the World Health Organization and in use by various countries.