Study shows: Corona can be infected again so quickly

study shows
That’s how quickly you can get infected with Corona again

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Most people are now vaccinated, recovered, or even both. The number of infections is falling, most corona measures have expired, but the virus continues to be rampant. What is the probability of getting infected again with Corona?

The number of infections is currently on the decline again – according to the Robert Koch Institute, the seven-day incidence is 522.7 and 107,568 new infections within one day. However, the figures no longer provide a complete picture of the situation. Experts assume that the RKI no longer has all infections.

Despite vaccination, many people have contracted the omicron variant

Due to the high number of infections between January and May, the immune protection continues to increase. The positive: Experts expect that the corona situation in the coming autumn and winter will most likely not be as dramatic as in previous years.

However, there is bad news too. It is now known that despite surviving an infection, you are not immune to being infected again – and that in a very short time. Results of a study from Denmark provide initial indications of the likelihood of reinfection. This was published as a preprint on the “medRxiv” platform at the end of February – the results have not yet been reviewed by independent experts.

Reinfections with the corona virus are possible – but rare

The researchers examined data on more than 1.8 million infections between late November and mid-February. Among those examined were vaccinated and unvaccinated. It is also important that at that time the Delta variant was dominant and Omicron was still on the rise. The scientists at the Statens Serum Institut found 187 cases in which people became infected again with omicron within a period of 20 to 60 days after the initial infection. Overall, the proportion of reinfections is therefore low.

In 47 cases, people became infected first with the omicron subtype BA.1 and then with BA.2 within a very short time. Reinfections are therefore possible, but rare, according to the researchers. According to the study, “young, unvaccinated people with a mild illness that does not lead to hospitalization or death” were mostly re-infected.

In the case of reinfection, the course of the disease is milder

The British health authority (UKHSA) also states that people are infected again with the corona virus. A report from the end of March states that more than 804,000 reinfections have been detected in England since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland”. In total there have been 22.2 million infections in the UK.

Reinfection can occur, among other things, if the human immune reaction is only weak. When infected with the corona virus, the body produces many antibodies and T cells, which creates natural protection against the virus. This response and production can vary from person to person, so the number of antibodies and T cells can vary. It can also depend on the amount of virus that the human comes into contact with.

It is still unclear how high the protection against other corona variants is after an omicron infection

It is still unclear whether the immunity acquired after an infection with Omikron also offers sufficient protection against other corona variants. The majority of people only get mildly ill if they become infected again. Some studies suggest that a mild course could mean that little immunity is created – but there are exceptions. In the same way, people with a severe course may also only have developed a low level of defence.

In general, however, it can be said that those who have already been infected with the corona virus become less ill in the event of reinfection – this applies in particular to those who have already been vaccinated.

Sources used: rnd.de, corona-in-zahlen.de, medrxiv.org “Occurrence and importance of omicron BA.1 infection followed by BA.2 reinfection”

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