(WXYZ) — The U.S. continues to see significant increases in COVID-19 infections and a sizeable amount of them are reinfections.
Unfortunately, there are people who are catching the coronavirus more than once. I’ve actually heard reports of some folks getting infected for a third or fourth time.
Now not so long ago, reinfections were considered rare, but that was before omicron. The virus has since evolved and is now more adept at reinfecting people. People who were initially infected with the first omicron variant can now get reinfected with its newer variants BA.2 or BA2.12.1.
But it’s not easy to say exactly how many times reinfection can happen. That’s because many people are testing at home and not reporting the results, so data is limited.
Now, you might be wondering why would an infection with omicron not provide protection against one of its descendants. Well, science tells us that even though omicron’s variants have few changes to its genetic code, there are still differences.
Two studies suggest that BA.2.12.1 may be even better at evading prior immunity than previous omciron subvariants. On top of that, an omicron infection does not produce a strong immune response. So, protection wanes quickly, which then opens the door for another infection maybe three or four months later.
There have been many breakthrough infections. Preliminary research suggests that BA.2.12.1 has escape mutations that make it a bit resistant to our vaccines. So, it’s causing quite a few reinfections, even with those who are vaccinated.
Having said that, our vaccines are still effective at preventing serious illness. We’re finding that people with two or three vaccine doses are not getting sick enough and needing medical care. And booster doses do lower the chance of reinfection.
As for long COVID-19, it’s possible a person can have symptoms for weeks or months after any infection. But there’s not enough data yet to tell us how often that might happen in people who are vaccinated. We’ve got to remember that this coronavirus is like a forest fire -- it’s always looking for wood to burn.
Vaccination can help lower the risk of infection and keep people from getting so sick that they need to be hospitalized. However, if a person has a weakened immune system, is older or has underlying health conditions, they should also reduce their risk of infection by wearing an N95 mask while indoors in public places, as well as avoid large crowds and stay up to date with vaccines and boosters.
Additional Coronavirus information and resources:
View a global coronavirus tracker with data from Johns Hopkins University.
See complete coverage on our Coronavirus Continuing Coverage page.
