{"id":4526,"date":"2022-05-18T14:34:42","date_gmt":"2022-05-18T14:34:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.cov19longhaulfoundation.org\/?p=4526"},"modified":"2022-05-18T14:34:42","modified_gmt":"2022-05-18T14:34:42","slug":"how-many-times-can-you-get-covid-what-experts-know-about-reinfection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cov19longhaulfoundation.org\/?p=4526","title":{"rendered":"How many times can you get COVID? What experts know about reinfection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Authors: \u00a0Hannah Sparks<\/a> May 18, 2022\u00a0 The New York Post<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new normal is now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In what seemed like an instant, COVID-19 became an inevitable aspect of everyday life more than two years ago \u2014 with no signs to suggest that we\u2019ll ever see otherwise again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we look at our lives ahead with waves of new variants and \u201cstealth\u201d sub-variants<\/a>, and seasonal vaccine boosters to match, it begs the question: Should we fear reinfection<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doctors have recently confirmed that those infected with an earlier Omicron variant, which first appeared and spread rapidly last summer, can indeed test positive again for the new sub-variant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week, as the latest strain \u2014 BA.2<\/a> or BA2.12.1 \u2014 made its presence known <\/a>in New York City and clusters throughout the Northeast and Midwest, the US crossed a grim milestone: 1,000,000 COVID deaths. Globally, we\u2019ve lost more than 6,000,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Post spoke to NYU Langone Health infectious diseases expert Dr. Michael Phillips about what we can expect from life with COVID as we know it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you get infected with COVID twice \u2014 and who\u2019s at risk?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is no such thing as perfect immunity from COVID. Regardless of severity or immunization, someone who tests positive for the virus can become infected again at some point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur hospitalizations have crept up over the past several weeks, particularly with this newer variant of Omicron,\u201d Dr. Phillips told The Post. \u201cBut thankfully, the vast majority of people [who] get the infection tend to recover without too much problems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there\u2019s more at stake for some. People who have not received two doses of the mRNA vaccine, as well as those with weakened immune systems due to age, medications, preexisting illness or other clinical factors, such as poor physical fitness, are at a higher risk of reinfection and becoming severely sick with COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Phillips warns against us \u201cdevelop[ing] a laissez faire attitude about it.\u201d While some relatively young, healthy and vaccinated individuals may become reinfected with only a mild case, the person they pass it to \u2014 potentially, someone with a weakened immune system due to age, medications, preexisting illness or other clinical factors, such as poor physical fitness \u2014 may not fare so well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Omicron is \u201cvery, very different from prior waves of Delta<\/a>,\u201d Phillips added. \u201cI think it shifted our game plan for sure.\u201d Now more than ever the focus of prevention efforts is on protecting those the ones at a greater risk of severe illness \u2014 and protecting yourself from COVID reinfection means also \u201cprotect[ing] the vulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you be reinfected with the same COVID variant?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s certainly possible, particularly in those who are not vaccinated. Unlike earlier variants, Omicron has rapidly evolved into several sub-types, prompting simultaneous localized outbreaks. Meanwhile, there\u2019s no telling how many positive cases of COVID-19 go unreported, whether due to lack of testing or symptoms to warrant alarm. So whether to fear reinfection with the same niche strain may not be a pragmatic question to ask \u2014 because, by the time it\u2019s answered, a new strain may already be here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are so many of these other variants within that big family of coronaviruses, and we\u2019re typically infected with three to four a year,\u201d Phillips explained, most of which present as a mild cold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ideally, SARS-CoV-2 could fade into coronavirus obscurity like many of the others \u2014 but we aren\u2019t there yet, and it\u2019s too soon to say whether that\u2019s a feasible outlook. \u201cIt\u2019s still severe enough that that we have to be pretty mindful about,\u201d said Phillips. \u201cWe just don\u2019t know enough about future variants for us to take our guard down yet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How long after getting COVID can you be reinfected?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is another complicated question \u2014 especially for sufferers of long COVID, who appear to harbor low, even undetectable levels of the virus for weeks and months. For mild to moderate cases, people who test positive for COVID can expect their infection to clear within five to 10 days after their symptoms arose, or since their confirmed test result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nascent research suggests that the average immune system can fend off COVID reinfection for three to five months after the previous bout. That\u2019s why, according to<\/a> the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people who had a confirmed infection within the previous 90 days are not expected to quarantine after coming in contact with another infected individual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But all bets are off about six months later, when antibodies are known to start waning \u2014 regardless of vaccination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How long do COVID antibodies last?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Experts don\u2019t know exactly. While those survive COVID appear to be largely protected from repeat or severe illness for up to five months after the previous infection, there isn\u2019t enough data available yet to be certain how long those COVID-specific antibodies linger, or even to confirm that the presence of antibodies guarantees immunity, according to<\/a> the Food and Drug Administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immune system B cells give rise to COVID-specific antibodies, designed to attack the virus on sight, before it can penetrate tissue cells and reproduce. They begin to form within the first few days<\/a> infection or vaccination, and continue to build for several weeks<\/a> until they peak at around three months thereafter \u2014 when your COVID defenses are at their strongest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that waning antibodies doesn\u2019t mean we\u2019re totally defenseless, as some B cells<\/a> will remember the tools it previously took to create COVID antibodies during re-invasion. (Boosters, furthermore, helps our immune system remember how. to fight.) Meanwhile, our killer T-cells, the immune system\u2019s backup line of defense, may not so good at preventing the virus from entering the body, but they can spot an infected host cell \u2014 and destroy before it multiplies to another cell. And while they\u2019re more difficult to track, they do appear to be more faithful than fleeting antibodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThose appear to stay be much more robust,\u201d said Phillips, adding, that \u201cthe T cell response is probably more important for response to viral infections\u201d in the long run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are COVID vaccines still effective?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have to be paranoid about the emergence of a new strain \u2026 but we have to be thoughtful and ready for that.\u201d<\/p>Dr. Michael Phillips, MD, NYU Langone Health<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

More or less. Vaccines remain the best way to build-up antibodies, the body\u2019s primary line of defense against severe COVID-19 illness. While allowing oneself to become infected can also give rise to antibodies, it\u2019s not worth the risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m strongly pro vaccine, because of the the problems that happen when you don\u2019t get it,\u201d said Phillips, who hinted at alternative forms of vaccination technology on the horizon as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless of type, antibodies are known to wane afer about six months since last infection or booster, making reinfection more likely to occur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How often can you get a COVID booster?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For those on the two-dose regimen, a second round should be completed about six weeks after the first. However, it\u2019s been well over a year since the vaccine was introduced, which means many patients completed those two rounds back in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doctors expect that annually, even seasonally redesigned boosters against COVID-19 could become the norm \u2014 kind of like influenza, only different, and more troubling: One flu season sees just one or two major strains globally, allowing researchers time to prepare vaccines. \u201cIt\u2019s not this, sort of, constant changing during a \u2018season\u2019,\u201d said Phillips, like COVID-19 has done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, only those who have a weakened immune system and people age 50 or older are being recommended for a third shot by the CDC<\/a> \u2014 which is, altogether, a good sign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Said Phillips, \u201cWe don\u2019t have to be paranoid about the emergence of a new strain \u2026 but we have to be thoughtful and ready for that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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