Can a person be infected with the emerging coronavirus "Covid-19", then receive the vaccine, and then be infected again?
And how severe are the symptoms that occur when infected with the Corona virus after receiving the “breakthrough infection” vaccine?
How can the sense of smell be restored after an injury?
The answers are in this report.
The term Breakthrough Infections means that a person who has received the Corona vaccine becomes ill.
The first question stems from a personal experience, as in the month of September 2020, my family and I were infected with Corona, and when we conducted the tests, the result was positive for two family members, but this can be explained by the fact that the levels of the virus had not risen to appear in the examination because the infection was in its infancy.
During the subsequent days - during which we were in quarantine for two weeks - we developed symptoms, which ranged from:
Tired
Digestive symptoms such as colic and diarrhea
fever
By God's grace, we recovered from it.
Later we received the vaccination.
But last August, we caught the virus in the family a second time, and all but one of us tested positive.
We developed symptoms that varied from person to person, but were stronger than the first infection and included:
More tired than the first time
Complete loss of sense of smell and taste
Fever
muscle pain
Nasal symptoms such as runny nose and sneezing
All of these symptoms were more severe than the first infection.
What happened with us sheds light on the issue of the possibility of a person contracting corona, then receiving a vaccination, and then being infected again.
In this report, we will discuss the latest scientific data on this.
We will also talk about restoring the sense of smell after infection, a problem that we suffered more from in the second infection:
Can a person be infected with the Corona virus, then receive the vaccine, and then be infected again?
The answer is yes, according to the Cleveland Clinic, "We know that anyone can get COVID-19, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, those who have already had it and those who haven't. By the same token, anyone can get COVID-19." 19 again."
"It's important to note that we're still learning a lot about reinfection, and who's at risk for this infection," says pediatric infectious disease specialist Dr. Frank Esper of the Cleveland Clinic.
But doctors know that some people are at greater risk of contracting COVID-19 again than others."
But vaccination nevertheless has great benefits. First, it reduces the possibility of re-infection.
According to a study published by the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and transmitted by "usnews", the probability of re-infection among the unvaccinated is twice more than among those who were vaccinated.
The study showed that those who have recovered from COVID-19 and who have not been vaccinated may have more than twice the risk of reinfection than those who have been vaccinated.
The study looked at hundreds of Kentucky residents who were infected with the coronavirus in 2020, and compared the vaccination status of those who were infected again from May to June 2021. The researchers found that those who had not been vaccinated had a 2.34 times more likely to be infected again. Others with corona compared to those who were fully vaccinated.
The study authors concluded that to reduce their likelihood of developing future infections, the COVID-19 vaccine should be offered to all people, even those with previous infection with the virus.
That is why US health officials have long recommended that those who have recovered from the coronavirus be vaccinated.
How severe are the symptoms of infection with the Coronavirus after receiving the vaccine (breakthrough infection)?
A second benefit of receiving the vaccine is that it reduces the severity of symptoms and the possibility of severe illness, hospitalization, or death, if you contract corona.
According to the American Centers, cases of penetration infection can occur, but corona vaccines protect people from severe diseases, including diseases caused by delta and other variants prevalent in the United States.
Even when fully vaccinated people do develop symptoms, they tend to be less severe than those who are not immunized.
Why do we get corona twice?
Immunity from the first infection wanes over time: As we approach the second year of the epidemic, hundreds of millions of people have contracted and recovered from the coronavirus.
"At this point, many of these infections occurred months or even a year ago, and immunity from that initial infection begins to wane over time," Dr. Esper says.
Vaccine immunity wanes over time: For people who were vaccinated early last winter, immunity may have started to wane as one year approaches.
We stopped being careful: With the return of travel and large gatherings, the adherence to safety precautions such as hand washing and social distancing has decreased.
The emergence of new highly contagious strains: Corona strains are much more contagious than the first wave of the Corona virus.
"These strains are able to overcome some of the existing immunity that people have developed through vaccination or a previous infection," Dr. Esper explains.
What's the point of a vaccine if we're going to get sick all the time?
The vaccine reduces the risk of infection with corona, and even when infected, symptoms are milder, and the likelihood of developing severe disease, hospitalization and death will be lower.
Also, according to a study conducted by researchers from King's College London, vaccination against corona not only reduces the risk of infection with it, but also reduces the transformation of infection into a long-term Covid syndrome (Long Covid), according to the B website. BBC
Long-term corona syndrome is a group of symptoms that persist with a person infected with the Corona virus for more than 4 weeks, and more than 200 symptoms have been counted.
Although many people who contract Covid recover within weeks, some have symptoms that persist or develop for weeks and months after the initial infection.
The study was published in the journal "The Lancet Infectious Diseases", and found that the vaccine reduces the risk of infection with the Corona virus, and if infection occurs, the vaccine also reduces the risk of developing long-term Covid syndrome.
How to restore the sense of smell after infection with Covid-19?
As I said at the beginning, our injury this time was marked by a complete loss of smell and taste, for me, although my sense of taste and smell is improving, but I have not been able to recover it completely.
And the French website "Futura Santé" says in its report that up to 70% of patients with the Corona virus suffer from a moderate or severe loss of the sense of smell, according to a study conducted by Dr.
This study, which follows a group of 2,500 patients selected from 18 European hospitals since last March, shows that the loss of smell lasts an average of 22 days, but 6% of patients have not regained this sense after 6 months of illness.
What explains the loss of the sense of smell?
The site states that so far, the exact cause of the loss of smell is not clear.
The virus was initially thought to infect olfactory neurons, but brain injury appears to be very rare.
A major hypothesis is the injury to cells of the olfactory epithelium that support olfactory neurons.
Italian researchers also noted that the loss of the sense of smell is accompanied by an increase in the molecule called "interleukin-6".
Differences can also be observed between genders (women are less affected than men) and ethnic groups, suggesting a genetic cause.
Sometimes dire consequences
Even if the loss of the sense of smell seems a relatively harmless symptom, it hinders you greatly in your daily life, because the loss of the sense of smell usually also leads to a loss and deterioration of taste.
Patients complain that all foods "taste like cardboard" and that some foods have a revolting flavour.
Loss of smell can have more serious consequences.
A 2014 study showed that people with a loss of smell were twice as likely to eat spoiled food, be poisoned by a gas leak, or be exposed to a fire.
Loss of smell can also lead to nutritional deficiencies.
What are the chances of restoring the sense of smell?
The faster your sense of smell recovers, the higher the chances of you returning to normal.
“In the case of persistent loss of smell due to influenza, after 6 months, there is only a 30% to 50% chance of spontaneous recovery,” says Carol Yan, a rhinologist at the University of California, San Diego, in For Science.
There have been recoveries after two years, but after that "the chances of recovery unfortunately become very slim," warns Carol Yan.
How to restore the sense of smell?
In severe cases, anti-inflammatory therapy may be prescribed.
Carol Yan, for example, recommends budesonide for the sinuses, a powerful topical steroid that a Stanford University study showed to improve outcomes for people who lost their sense of smell for more than 6 months after having the flu.
But as this specialist admits, the results are not surprising.
For most patients, the main treatment is to "train" their sense of smell, for example using essential oils, soap and a mixture of aromas or by tasting different flavors (chocolate, lemongrass, mint...).
Jerome Lechin advises, "Train yourself several times a day to collect smells by smelling coffee while looking at the cup. Even if you don't smell anything at first, this allows your olfactory system to re-acquaint yourself with smells and establish connections in the brain," and here you may be Fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidants and vitamins B9 and B12 are meant to restore your better sense of smell.
Yes, I contracted the Corona virus after receiving the vaccination, but I know that without the vaccine there is a greater chance that the symptoms will be more severe, and that the disease will develop into a more serious condition.