'Part of a New Normal': Covid Reinfections are Here to Stay
NBC News | By Akshay Syal, M.D. and Sara G. Miller
In 2020, Covid reinfections were considered rare.
In 2021, breakthrough infections in vaccinated individuals could occur, but again, the risk was low.
In 2022, that's no longer the case for either. As more immune-dodging coronavirus variants emerge, reinfections and breakthrough infections appear increasingly normal.
The United States isn't currently tracking Covid reinfections. However, U.K. researchers have found that the risk of reinfection was eight times higher during the omicron wave than it was in last year's delta wave.
“I would not be surprised if we see people get infected more than once per year,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, said in an interview with NBC News last week, though he added that he feels optimistic that it will eventually settle into becoming just a seasonal occurrence, like the flu. (Fauci, who has received two vaccine boosters, himself tested positive for Covid on Wednesday, saying he has mild symptoms.)
Of course, just because reinfections are possible, doesn’t mean people should give up on all efforts to prevent them; staying up-to-date on vaccinations and wearing masks indoors in places with high transmission still work to lower risk.
Here’s what we know so far about reinfections.
Can I be Reinfected if I’ve Already Had Covid, or Been Vaccinated or Boosted?
To put it bluntly, yes. Experts are in agreement that reinfections are possible, even in people who have already been infected or those who are up-to-date on their vaccines.
“Reinfections, unfortunately, are not unusual for coronavirus,” said Akiko Iwasaki, a professor of immunobiology at Yale University. “It’s just the nature of this virus infection.”
The coronavirus that causes Covid is not unique — other types of coronaviruses that cause common colds can also reinfect, Fauci said. But those reinfections may occur every two or three years, because those viruses don’t change very much.
That’s not the case for SARS-CoV-2, and particularly the rapidly evolving omicron subvariants, which are good at evading existing immunity. Combine that with the fact that people’s immunity naturally wanes over time, Iwasaki said, and “it’s not that surprising to see a lot of reinfections now.”
That’s especially true for people who were infected with the original omicron variant, dubbed BA.1, in the winter. The BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants — currently gaining a foothold in the U.S. — are quite different from BA.1, so “it’s no guarantee” that having a past omicron infection will protect you from subsequent subvariants, she said.
How Many Times Can I be Reinfected?
It’s impossible to put an exact number on how many times a person can be reinfected, experts say.
With a high level of Covid currently spreading in the U.S., any of us have a good chance of being exposed to someone who is contagious — and becoming reinfected.
Whether a person is reinfected depends on the strength of the immune response when the person was exposed, as well as whether he or she has been recently vaccinated, said Dr. Julie McElrath, director of the vaccine and infectious disease division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle. Multiple exposures to the virus — which may not necessarily lead to symptoms — could have a silver lining, McElrath said.
Each time a person is exposed, the immune response matures and improves.
“We should consider reinfection as part of the new normal,” she said. “The hope is that with these multiple exposures continually improving antibody response will occur.”
Read Full Article for answers to the following questions:
- How long does Covid immunity last after infection?
- If reinfected, will symptoms be milder or worse?
- Are certain people more vulnerable to reinfection?
- Am I more likely to develop long Covid if I get reinfected?
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