REMOVEby now, you probably know — or are — a person who has had COVID-19 two, three, or even four times. Omicron and its subvariables, are highly contagious and contains mutations that may allow them to evade The body’s own immune defenses against vaccines and infections, have created Reinfection is an unfortunate but common part of life.
Experts warn that BA.5, currently accounts for the majority of cases in the US, may be particularly capable of causing reinfection, even in people who have had the virus relatively recently. Scientists have similar concerns about BA.2.75another contagious Omicron sub-variant that is spreading rapidly in some parts of the world, including India, but does not yet account for a significant proportion of new cases in the US
To what extent do you have to worry about re-infection? Here’s what we know so far.
You may not be as sick as the first time
If your body has been trained to deal with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, it will perform better next time, ideally keeping your second illness milder.
The body forms an immune response after using COVID-19 or getting a vaccine against it. These defenses greatly reduce your chances of getting very sick or dying if you get infected again, said Dr. Jeffrey Cohen, head of the infectious diseases lab at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. (People who are immunocompromised may not achieve a robust immune response, leaving them vulnerable to serious outcomes even after previous exposure or vaccination.)
But being infected is Not a guarantee that you won’t get sick again in the future, especially with BA.5 and other Omicron relatives circulating globally.
Previously infected healthcare workers who were vaccinated three times received almost no immune benefit (measured by antibodies, T cellsand other immune responses) after being reproduced by Omicron, according to research published in a magazine Science in June. In other words, their immunity does not exceed what they have built up from vaccines and previous infections. Those who were fully vaccinated but never been infected improved slightly.
Again researchpublished year Nature in May, found that unvaccinated people had little long-term protection after being infected with Omicron.
“Omicron infections are not a good way to boost your immune response,” says Rosemary Boyton, co-author of the study. Science Researcher and professor of immunology and respiratory medicine at Imperial College London. Her research shows that infection in the first wave of Omicron “doesn’t necessarily protect you against BA.4 and BA.5 and subsequent strains. That’s probably why we see people getting breakouts and re-infections so often. “
Even mild illness carries a risk
If reinfection can be mild, is re-infection such a big deal? It can. One research posted online in June as a pre-review (i.e. it has not been peer-reviewed) found that reinfection adds “no small risks” in terms of death, hospitalization and health status. health after COVID, in addition to the cumulative risks from the initial SARS-CoV-2 infection. Organ failure, heart disease, neurological condition, diabetes, etc. have ever associated with SARS-CoV-2 . infection.
Study co-author, Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, an assistant professor at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, said the article was slightly misinterpreted; some people have incorrectly assumed that it means a second infection that is more severe than a primary infection. Al-Aly says what the paper really shows is that additional infections come with additional risks. They may be smaller than the first infection, but they can pile up over time. “If your risk is X,” after the first infection, after the second “it is X plus Y,” he explains.
Even if reinfection doesn’t make you very sick right away, it can increase your chances of developing chronic health problems after COVID, the article said.
“Second infection is less likely [than first infections] Cohen said. “But there can be damage even from that second infection.”
You can get COVID long after reinfection
COVID has long been one of the most feared infections and it can happen even for fully vaccinated people with mild cases of COVID-19. The latest federal data suggests One in five adults with COVID-19 will have long-term COVID-19 disease symptoms, which may include fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, chronic pain, etc.
Cohen said it remains unclear whether someone is more likely to get Long COVID after a second infection than a first, but there have been documented cases of people developing lingering symptoms after reinfection. . “It’s certainly possible, but there’s not enough data yet to tell how common that outcome is,” Cohen said.
“You’re almost rolling the dice again,” Al-Aly said. “You might be one of the lucky ones at first…but that doesn’t really mean it will happen all the time.”
Is reinfection inevitable?
Catching COVID-19 is always something to avoid as much as possible, using strategies like Update information on vaccinationswear High quality mask, fits well indoors, improve indoor ventilation, and ask everyone to do a quick test before the group meeting.
But in reality, without comprehensive public health strategies and with variants like BA.5 causing new waves of disease, avoiding COVID-19 in the Omicron era is difficult for with an individual who would otherwise “live in a bubble,” says Al-Aly.
Cohen says the practice underscores the importance of developing new tools, such as multi-strain vaccines that can protect against both current and future variants. Some experts are also excited by the possibility nasal vaccine, hopefully slowing transmission by building immune reservoirs where viruses normally enter the body. Both products are currently in development, but are not yet ready for public distribution.
Reducing the number of reinfections is necessary not only for individual health, but also for public health, Boyton said. Medically vulnerable and immunocompromised people will not be safe as long as the virus is spreading widely and everyone is at risk if it continues to mutate as it continues to infect. to a large number of the population. “There is a risk that if you allow the virus to circulate in a highly transmissible vaccinated population, it could mutate into something more pathogenic,” she said.
In Boyton’s opinion, the benefits of reducing transmission are large enough to justify ongoing public health measures such as face covering on public transport. Policymakers and individuals should be pushed to slow the spread of the virus as much as possible, she said.
“This is not a trivial illness to have, even if you don’t have to be hospitalized or die,” she said.
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