A number of cases of re-infection with Covid-19 have been reported.
If the phenomenon remains uncommon, the lack of perspective on the virus gives rise to many uncertainties.
How long do you stay immune after infection?
Should you be vaccinated if you have already been sick?
On Europe 1, doctor Jimmy Mohamed provides some clarifications.
DECRYPTION
Many people who have contracted the coronavirus report cases of reinfection.
Sick in March, they were able to feel the symptoms again from the end of the summer.
Data are lacking for the moment: the cause would be a "small" variant, a very common phenomenon for this type of virus.
This is not necessarily more contagious (we are not talking about the English and South African variants here) and for the moment reinfection remains a marginal phenomenon.
Immunity of at least a few months is therefore very real.
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A very low reinfection rate
An English study looked at this question: from a sample of 12,500 caregivers, it was able to identify 1,200 individuals infected with Covid-19 and presenting a positive serology.
They were therefore immune to the virus.
After following them for eight months (extremely long timeframe for the coronavirus), the study found a reinfection rate of 0.11%, very low but attesting to the existence of the phenomenon.
The English study comes up against the limit that the follow-up is only 6-8 months and that we do not know what happens after one or two years.
The question also arises about the long-term effectiveness of the vaccine.
One thing is certain, an infection followed by remission should not lead to slackening of the barrier gestures.
These make it possible to fight against Covid-19 but also to get rid of other viruses: there has hardly been any flu this year, nor bronchiolitis.
The barrier gestures are used for the coronavirus but also for all diseases.
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Vaccinate people who are already infected?
At a time when the vaccination campaign is taking on a new scale in France but where each dose remains precious, the High Authority of Health has wondered whether it is necessary to vaccinate people with a positive serology.
Here again, the lack of hindsight and scientific data plunges into uncertainty: it is impossible to know what are the benefits of a vaccination for people infected in the past.
The vaccine does not present any risk for them.
You just have to wait three months after an infection to get vaccinated.
Note that it is not because your serology is negative that you do not have an immunity, a little deeper and therefore hidden, protecting against the coronavirus.