We answer common questions about the coronavirus crisis. Send us an email at goatsandsoda@npr.org if you have any questions. The subject line should be: “Weekly Coronavirus Question.” You can find an archive of our FAQs right here.
So you thought you had recovered from COVID by January. Then you felt a scratchy and runny throat, so you took a home test to make sure aEUR was not the culprit.
This may be a question you are asking yourself: How is this possible? Is it possible for COVID to be re-evaluated in a matter of months, or even weeks?
Four experts were asked to answer common questions regarding reinfection.
After having COVID, I believed I was immune aEUR”, at least for a time. Is this true?
You had an 84% lower chance of being infected if you had a previous variant aEUR before the arrival omicron. This significantly reduced your chances of contracting COVID again, particularly in the months immediately following you became sick.
However, the omicron variants have changed this.
According to Juliet Pulliam (lead author and director of South African Centre for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis), a March study found that the risk of reinfection increased substantially with the emergence of the omicron in November.
Many omicron variants are currently in circulation around the globe. They are highly transmissible and can overcome immunity from prior infections, vaccinations, or both.
These omicron versions don’t just bypass protection that you might have received from a nonomicron SARS-CoV-2 version; you can also catch the latest variants of Omicron even though you already had the original.
You are more susceptible to infection if you haven’t had a COVID shot in a while or you haven’t recovered from a case.
There is some good news. The newest omicrons are not better at fighting immunity than the original.
Omicron sub-lineages B.4 and B.5 are now driving the most recent South African resurgence. Pulliam informs NPR via email that these variants have “an almost equal risk of reinfection to the BA.1 aEUR” variants. This is higher than previous non-omicron variants but lower than the originally circulating omicron Sub-lineage.
How quickly could I be reinfected again?
Experts are still working to understand this. Researchers found that 60% of reinfections with non-omicron variants in Denmark between March 2020 and February 2021 occurred within two months. This was according to a preprint study. The study has not been peer reviewed or published.
This means that you might have less protection after an infection than you think.
Remember that the Danish researchers looked only at 15 confirmed reinfections out of 593 suspected cases. This is due to a number of reasons.
The newer variants of COVID are better at overriding prior immunity. Our specialists recommend that you get tested if you feel like you might have COVID symptoms again after you have recovered from COVID.
Are milder or more severe reinfections more likely?
South African research suggests that prior infections can protect against serious outcomes such as hospitalizations and even death.
Pulliam states that reinfection can lead to hospitalization or death, but it does not seem to be a common occurrence. However, natural infection and vaccination appear to offer good protection against serious outcomes for most people.
A second study in Qatar showed that an infection prior to COVID-19 was 87% more effective than a severe or fatal one.
Keep in mind, however, that certain conditions aEUR”, such as organ transplants, ongoing cancer treatments, heart or lung disease, or other medical issues, can make you more susceptible to poor outcomes. This is true even if the virus has never been vaccinated or infected.
Jacob Lemieux, an infectious diseases doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital, says that the severity of illness in immunocompromised patients “depends on the patient” and “depends on their immune system.” “We don’t know what the effect would look like.”
However, the severity of your illness will also depend on how long ago it has been since your last vaccine or your previous COVID treatment. Because such protection deteriorates over time, it is important to keep up with your vaccination schedule.
Paxlovid was prescribed and I was again positive a few days later. This is a re-infection.
Robert Wachter is a professor at the University of California San Francisco and the chair of the Department of Medicine. He said that this is not a case of reinfection. Instead, it’s a sign of something called “rebound” when patients experience symptoms again and test positive for the drug 2 to 8 days later.
Wachter’s wife was the victim of this. Her symptoms improved significantly after she took Paxlovid and she began to test negative for rapid tests. Four days later, she experienced new symptoms aEUR”. She had fatigue, sore throat, headaches, and congestion.
He said that rebound was a reason he rethought Paxlovid’s use among younger people, who aren’t as likely to suffer severe consequences. He would still take Paxlovid if he was to become sick due to his own risk factors.
Because Paxlovid was shown to reduce hospitalization rates by 89% in high-risk patients, this means that those with risk factors such as immunosuppression or being over 65 years old can see major benefits from the antiviral. According to a new study, this protection applies to both unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals who are high-risk.
“That’s real,” Wachter says. “How meaningful this is for you depends on how often you are admitted and the risk of a bad case, which could make you very sick or even kill you.
Do vaccines help prevent reinfection?
Getting vaccinated can prevent infection and reinfection. This is why it’s so important to get the shots, even if your COVID was previously treated and you thought you were safe.
Peter Palese is a professor and chair at the Icahn Medical School at Mount Sinai’s department of microbiology.
Palese states that if you have had a severe case in the past, you should get your COVID shots up to date now so you can be less likely to contract it again.
“Vaccination vaccination vaccination. It will not protect against mild diseases, but it will prevent you from needing a ventilator (the ICU) or dying.
However, the immunity provided by vaccines, particularly against infection, starts to fade after a few months. It is therefore a good idea to get a booster (or second booster, if eligible) for your immune system.
After being hospitalized with COVID, you could have two mRNA vaccinations. This combination of protection would prevent subsequent hospitalizations. The effectiveness of the booster was 68%.
There is no perfect vaccine, so it is important to continue to take precautions, aEUR”, wearing a mask, getting tested for COVID if you have symptoms, improving ventilation, and even more aEUR”, especially during surges such as the one currently being experienced in the U.S.
Is it possible to get COVID multiple time and have long-term consequences?
Pulliam states that long-term effects from repeated reinfections like organ damage are “the big question” and that he hasn’t yet seen any data to address this.
Experts believe that each COVID case can lead to long COVID even if you are fine.
According to a study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in five adults suffers from ongoing health problems after acute COVID cases. This includes “persistent symptoms and organ dysfunction.”
Lemieux says that there is a possibility of COVID (or symptoms) lasting for a long time after the acute infection has been resolved in some people. However, we don’t know how common it is or how long it will last.
How can I deal with the changing aEUR information and emerging aEUR information about reinfection risk?
It’s frustrating because everyone wants to get rid of this virus. But we aren’t. We live in an age where we want all the information we can get, but we don’t have it,” Lemieux states.
This means that we must be alert to how each variant changes and how we react to it, especially in this age of reinfection.
For reinfection prevention, the same precautions that were used to prevent infection aEUR” masks, distancing and vaccinations aEUR” work equally well.
Reinfections are not uncommon for coronaviruses. Lemieux says, “I don’t think it’s surprising that reinfections happen, because that’s a feature coronavirus biology.” It’s surprising that it didn’t happen more often than with the original variants.
Melody Schreiber (@m_scribe), is a journalist who edits What We Didn’t Expect: Personal Stories about Premature Birth.
