How many times per year can people get Covid-19?

Scenes inside and outside the isolation fence in Beijing, Chinaon 16.5 afp

The issue of concern here is Coronavirus The new strain (SARS-CoV-2) has become more “adept” at reinfecting humans. There have been cases where the original Omicron variant was now reinfected for a second time with sub-variants of this strain of BA.2 or BA2.12.1 in the US, or BA.4 and BA.5 in South Africa.

The researchers forecast that these patients could have a third or even a fourth Covid-19 infection, possibly this year. And a small number of people have symptoms that last for months or years, collectively known as “long Covid-19“.

“In my opinion, it looks like this is going to be the model in the long term,” the newspaper The New York Times quoted Juliet Pulliam, an epidemiologist at Stellenbosch University (South Africa).

“The virus just keeps evolving,” so she predicts that many people will probably be reinfected multiple times in their lifetime.

It is difficult to quantify how often a person is reinfected, in part because many cases are not reported to authorities. Even so, expert Pulliam and colleagues collected enough data in South Africa to say that the rate of reinfection Omicron higher than previous variants.

What is happening is completely different from what scientists previously predicted. The first to translate, experts all over the world world think that immunity from vaccines or past illnesses can help people fight the virus and prevent it risk of reinfection.

However, the Omicron variant has broken these expectations. The Omicron variant and its descendants seem to have evolved to the point of being able to somewhat overcome immunity.

Fortunately, until now, the sub-variants of Omicron have not interfered with the basic efficacy of the vaccine. Most people who receive 3 injections or even just 2 injections do not get sick enough to need to be hospitalized. Booster shots may also reduce the risk of reinfection, but not by much.