Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevailing theory was that if someone was infected with the virus, they were immune — at least for a while, says an article published in ABCNews.
Analysis of state data
But a growing number of Americans seem to be contracting the virus more than once.
A recent ABC News analysis of state data found that, as of June 8, there have been more than 1.6 million reinfections across 24 states, but experts say the number is likely much higher.
“These are not the real numbers because many people are not reporting cases,” Dr. Ali Mokdad, an epidemiologist with the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle, told ABC News.
Dominant strain
The latest variant, BA.5, has become the dominant strain in the U.S., making up more than 65% of all COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What’s more, studies have suggested that vaccines and previous infection do not offer as much protection against BA.5 compared to past variants.
However, there is little evidence to suggest that BA.5 causes more serious disease or is more deadly than previous variants.
Risk of reinfection
Experts say the risk of reinfection has also increased due to the sheer number of Americans who’ve had a first infection and the dropping of mitigation measures, like mask-wearing, across the country.
Repeat the test
Before the omicron variant arrived in the U.S., experts said reinfection was far less likely.
“I would say that before the omicron variant, it was pretty rare for me to see reinfection,” Dr. Shira Doron, an infectious disease physician and hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, told ABC News.
“Sometimes we would see someone who appeared to have reinfection and we’d repeat the test and it turned out that the new test was a false positive.”
Persistent positive
“And PCR tests can stay positive for months so sometimes clinicians would say a patient had reinfection, but it was a persistent positive from their infection a few months earlier,” Doron said.
Previous history
In fact, an April 2021 study from England published in The Lancet found that people with a previous history of COVID-19 infection were 84% less likely to be reinfected.
But that changed post-omicron. A March 2022 study from South Africa found an increased risk of reinfection with the emergence of omicron, BA.1, due to the variant’s “marked ability to evade immunity from prior infection.”
Did you subscribe to our daily newsletter?
It’s Free! Click here to Subscribe!
Source: Abc News
