Can you get COVID twice? Everything you need to know about reinfection
You’ve made it through COVID-19 and out the other side, and you now feel unstoppable. Are you sure you’re not going to get it again? Especially now that you’ve been vaccinated?
Sorry for the awful news, but it isn’t entirely accurate. According to experts, just because you’ve previously acquired and recovered from the virus doesn’t mean you’re safe. Breakthrough cases are conceivable even in fully vaccinated people who have previously been sick – in fact, if you’ve already been sick with COVID-19 but haven’t been vaccinated, you may be at an even higher risk of being sick again.
Frank Esper, MD, a paediatric infectious disease specialist, addresses your concerns concerning COVID-19 reinfection, including how to avoid contracting the virus again.
Why you can get COVID-19 more than once?
COVID-19 can be obtained several times. “We’re seeing more reinfections today than when the pandemic first started, which isn’t surprising,” Dr. Esper adds. He deconstructs the causes of reinfection.
The epidemic has been going on for quite some time: Since the beginning of the epidemic, the United States has seen more than 50 million cases of COVID-19. “At this time, many of those illnesses occurred months or even a year ago,” adds Dr. Esper. “Over time, the protection from those first infections starts to diminish.”
Immunity to vaccines deteriorates with time as well: Immunity in Americans who were vaccinated as early as winter 2020 may be waning as well. This is one of the reasons why getting your third dosage is so important.
We’ve been less cautious:
The early days of public attention surrounding safety procedures like masking, handwashing, and social distance all of which helped keep the virus at bay are long gone.
The new varieties are very contagious: COVID-19 variations are more infectious than the coronavirus’s initial wave. “These variations are able to overcome some of the existing immunity that patients have gained as a result of vaccination or a previous infection,” adds Dr. Esper.
Is it possible that variations are to fault for reinfections?
According to the CDC, the delta version is at least twice as infectious than earlier forms, and omicron became the main variant in the United States in December. It spreads even faster than delta.
However, you might be shocked to discover that the coronavirus does not vary nearly as much as the flu virus, which alters practically every aspect of its appearance from year to year. COVID-19’s contagiousness, according to Dr. Esper, is what makes it so, well, viral.
“One of the reasons why this variety has been able to persist and come back is because of its infectiousness, which includes its capacity to escape immune systems and prevent long-term immunity for those who are infected with it,” he continues.
Who is at risk of contracting COVID-19 again?
We now know that COVID-19 may affect both vaccinated and unvaccinated people, as well as those who have had it before and those who have not. In a similar manner, anybody can reclaim COVID-19.
“It’s crucial to keep in mind that we’re still learning a lot about reinfections and who’s at risk,” Dr. Esper adds. However, doctors are aware that certain patients are more vulnerable than others.
Infection in those who have not been vaccinated
Because you’ve previously had COVID-19, you may believe you don’t need to get vaccinated. Reconsider your position.
According to Dr. Esper, “this virus can overcome a person’s host immunity and trigger a second infection.” “According to reports, immunisation offers more protection than spontaneous illness.”
He’s referring to a research that found that unvaccinated persons are 2.34 times more likely to get COVID-19 than those who have been completely vaccinated, emphasising the need of getting vaccinated, even if you’ve previously been infected with the virus.
He claims that “almost all of the serious cases we’re seeing right now are folks who haven’t been vaccinated.”
Reinfection in immunocompromised individuals
Individuals with safe issues are at a higher risk for COVID-19 reinfection than the overall population, inciting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve promoter shots of Pfizer-BioNTech’s and Moderna’s COVID-19 immunizations beginning with immunocompromised people.
“We generally realize that individuals with safe issues were bound to have to a lesser extent a reaction to the immunization and bound to get a second contamination after they got the antibody,” Dr. Esper says. Supporter shots are intended to assist with lessening that probability.
Information doesn’t lie: COVID-19 immunizations work
The fact that the immunization doesn’t work makes headway occurrences of Covid 19, remembering instances of reinfection for immunized individuals, not a sign.
“There is an extremely planned and succinct exertion against antibodies, and those individuals need to intensify advancement diseases as motivation not to get immunized,” Dr. Esper says. “Yet, the wellbeing and advantage of getting immunized is extremely, solid, and they far offset the dangers of getting inoculated, which are incredibly, little.”
In short? Inoculation is as yet basic. In the event that you’re not yet immunized, this is the ideal opportunity to make it happen – for your wellbeing and for the security of everyone around you.
