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Researchers examining whether COVID-19 vaccination affects persistent smell or taste problems after contracting the virus have found that, in most cases, it does not. Dr. Daniel Hwang from The University of Queensland's Institute for Molecular Bioscience led an international research team to investigate changes in smell and taste following COVID-19 vaccination, particularly among people who experienced persistent sensory changes after contracting the virus.

"We wanted to investigate anecdotal reports that having a COVID-19 vaccination helped people experiencing persistent smell or taste problems," Hwang said. "But for more than 90% of study participants, smell and taste remained unchanged after their COVID-19 vaccination.

"People living with these symptoms may also be concerned about whether vaccination could make their condition worse. Our findings provide some reassurance that, for most people, this was not the case."

Researchers conducted a multilingual survey of 1,352 vaccinated participants from 52 countries between May 2022 and August 2023, with about half having reported changes to their smell and taste after contracting COVID-19. The results are published in the journal Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology.

The research was sparked by anecdotal reports of smell improvement after vaccination shared in a Facebook support group for people experiencing loss of smell and taste following COVID-19.

Among participants who already experienced conditions such as parosmia (where familiar smells become distorted), phantosmia (smelling things that are not present) and distorted taste, some reported improvement of their symptoms following vaccination, while worsening was relatively uncommon.

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