As COVID-19 mutates into new types of virus, scientists’ understanding of immunity and public health measures has changed as well. Mask states her It fell in some cities and public places (Although some regions or companies may require it), public health officials are considering an annual release A simplified vaccine strategy in the United States And World Health Organization officials this week He said people in high-risk groups, not those with medium or low risk, should be priority on vaccine plans moving forward.
These development plans reflect a new situation in the epidemic, as soon as emergency end in the United States in May, and a new way to deal with COVID-19, which has been circulating in various forms of omicron since late 2021. While the burden of COVID-19 is increasing in Much lower levels than before In a pandemic, the fact that the virus is still about making people sick will eventually prompt the question (if it hasn’t already): What happens when you get COVID-19 again?
Reinfection with COVID-19 occurs when you have the virus for the second, third, fourth, or more times. while confirmed Cases of it were relatively uncommon In the early stages of the pandemic, many people have had COVID-19 more than once, or will develop it again in the future.
Here’s what experts say about immunity created by previous infections and vaccinations, what you should know about the risk of contracting COVID for a long time after another bout of COVID-19, and more.
How long does COVID immunity last?
a Dimensional analysis Of 65 studies published in The Lancet in February, it found that protection against severe disease from a previous infection with COVID-19 is high with all previous variants, while protection against reinfection, or getting sick again, was lower and decreases very quickly with omicron variable (BS 1). Perhaps most importantly, the study found that, in general, protection against severe disease from COVID-19 remained high for 40 weeks (10 months).
Dr. Christopher Murray, Director Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation And one of the authors of the analysis, says that when you talk about COVID-19 immunity, you need to consider it as two parts: protection against severe disease, and protection against infection.
While protection from getting COVID-19 again after you’ve already had it is “not great,” Murray said, “immunity to prevent severe disease and death is really, really good.”
The risk that someone will become seriously ill or be hospitalized with the virus depends on various factors, including age (The elderly are most at risk) or medical conditions. But in terms of your individual immunity, note the last time your immune system was triggered against COVID-19.
“The most important thing for an individual is to remember when you were last vaccinated, or the last time you were confirmed infected,” Murray said.
“We know that there is sustained immunity for at least 10 months,” he said, referring to protection against severe disease. “This will tell you when the clock starts ticking on immunity.”
What has changed in the way we think about immunity?
“I think we’re now seeing the value of natural immunity that we didn’t know a year or two ago,” said Dr. Mike Civella, a family physician who practices in Ohio. “The population in general has already been exposed to the COVID virus in one way or another,” Seville added, whether it was from the vaccine, infection, or both.
It also seems like we’ve officially said “goodbye” to an idea herd immunity The concept that enough of the population has immunity will also work against COVID-19 and stop its spread.
“You’re not going to stop transmission of the virus once a lot of people are infected or vaccinated,” Murray said. “That’s a pretty big change of mindset from two years ago, I think.”
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Do your symptoms get worse when you get COVID again? What about long covid?
Because the affected variant can partially determine the severity of their illnessAccording to Seville, the extent to which someone gets reinfected may depend on whether they had a copy of the Omicron or a previous variant.
“It really depends on when they got the infection, as opposed to whether they had it two or three times,” he said.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Symptoms while re-infected with COVID-19Compared to the first disease, it is likely to be less severe. However, the agency notes that some people develop more severe disease. testing and treatment and Isolation guidelines During the second or third infection with COVID-19 infection is also the same as the first infection.
Long COVID It is a long-term condition that causes a person to experience permanent symptoms or mental or physical changes after the infection is cleared from the body. Does reinfection increase the risk of prolonged COVID?
“It’s hard to answer that question, but we’ve seen a very strong association between the severity and risk of COVID for a long time,” Murray said. That is, people who need to be hospitalized or contract the virus generally have a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 for a long time.
According to a condition According to the American Medical Association, every time you get COVID-19, you have Risk of developing chronic health problems, including organ damage. Damage to different organs in the body is one of the many different ways that COVID-19 affects people.
The researchers who published A Great review for long COVID Earlier this year in Nature Reviews Microbiology he wrote that early research suggests an increased risk of prolonged COVID symptoms with reinfection, but that early evidence also shows an inverted relationship with some immune responses in people with prolonged COVID that may make them more likely to contract the virus again. .
What doctors want people to know about the dangers of COVID
“We are definitely in a better place, in terms of public health, than we were at the beginning of the pandemic,” Seville said, adding that his focus is on his patients who are older and at higher risk, including those with diabetes and heart disease. disease and those who have survived cancer.
Murray says that for many adults without a health condition that puts them at higher risk of severe illness, the impact of COVID-19 is milder and more flu-like — a stark contrast to the early stages of the pandemic when COVID-19 was more severe, Murray added. . But still, COVID-19 does not have an established risk profile.
“Older adults are still at a high risk, and if they haven’t recently had a booster shot or have been infected recently…that’s a real risk,” Murray said, noting that immunosuppressed people should “err on the side of extreme caution” when considering The amount of time that has passed since the last vaccination or infection. Updated boosters targeting the omicron variant Available to children and adults, as long as it’s been at least 2 months since your last shot. (Learn more about staying up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccines on the CDC website.)
“People need to change the way they think,” Murray said. “It’s not ‘I’ve been vaccinated, I’m done’ or ‘I’ve been infected, I’m done.'” Keep track of the last time you experienced something that triggered your immunity.
The elderly and people with certain medical conditions are also eligible for treatment including Paxlovidany It reduces the risk of hospitalization or death in patients at high risk. If you have symptoms of COVID-19 or get a positive test, and are at high risk for severe disease, contact your doctor or pharmacist as soon as possible to learn about your treatment options. As set out in a Medscape’s share Written by Dr. Eric Topol, editor-in-chief of the publication and executive vice president of Scripps Research, people who need therapy the most may not be getting it.
The fact that COVID-19 has become a manageable disease for so many people partly reflects that we haven’t had a dramatically new variant since late 2021 or early 2022 when The omicron became dominant and began to mutate to different (and more contagious) versions of itself. The risk of a new dominant variant causing more severe disease or having immune escape (circumventing protection from previous vaccines or diseases) exists, says Murray, and would be “very concerning.”
But speaking relatively speaking of the shifting front now, Murray said, “We’re doing well.”
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