Why Are COVID-19 Reinfections Happening? Know What Experts Say

New Delhi: There is no guarantee that a person who contracts COVID-19 will not get reinfected. Though rare, it’s been happening from 2020.

But now cases of reinfection have gone up and the probability is higher among those who have been infected during the Omicron-driven third wave in India.

According to experts dealing with COVID-19 patients, reinfections are happening because the virus is escaping immunity, ANI reported.

“People who have been infected earlier are turning positive again. They are getting reinfected within a gap of two or three weeks because this virus has the capacity to immune escape… It is escaping immunity,” Sir Ganga Ram Hospital Chairman Dr DS Rana told ANI.

“At this point, we can’t afford to lower our immunity even after having recovered from the infection,” he advised.

Also Read: Omicron Reinfection? 2 Doctors Test Positive Just 7 Days After Recovering From COVID

Antigenic escape, immune escape, immune evasion or escape mutation occurs when the immune system of a host, especially of a human being, is unable to respond to an infectious agent. The host’s immune system can then no longer recognize and eliminate a pathogen, such as a virus, according to doctors.

According to Senior Consultant, Internal Medicine of Apollo Hospital Dr Suranjit Chatterjee, “The reinfection rate is higher with Omicron variant than compared to the Delta variant because what has been seen is immune escape phenomenon is stronger in Omicron rather than Delta or any other variant so far. When studies were conducted it was found that the risk of reinfection is higher in people infected with Omicron.”

The Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) of coronavirus was first reported in Africa in November 2021. Though mild in nature, it spread rapidly across the globe, and was declared a variant of concern by World Health Organization.

Also Read: Fact Check: Can Omicron-Affected Individuals Avoid Delta Reinfection?