The Omikron variant and a too long time span from the latest dose of vaccine are some of the reasons why more and more people are now getting covid-19 again.
That is the opinion of Ali Mirazimi, professor of virology at Karolinska Institutet.
He says that it is clearly the omicron variant that accounts for the large increase in re-infections.
- Omikron differs so much from the virus variants we have seen before.
And the protection we have built up in society thanks to the vaccine does not help everyone against infection when it comes to omicrons, says Ali Mirazimi.
Re-infections are increasing
During the year, the proportion of re-infections increased steadily.
During week 1, 5.4 percent of all confirmed cases were re-infected.
During week 5, the proportion had increased to 11 percent.
It shows figures from the Public Health Agency.
- It is quite expected.
At corona, we have seen that you do not get long-term protection.
After a while, you become susceptible to infection again, says Ali Mirazimi.
He believes that the coronavirus will return in the next few years, just like the flu.
- With the help of the vaccine, we will ensure that the difficult cases disappear.
Lack of evidence on post-covid
It is too early to say whether this means that more people are at risk of being affected by post-covid.
- It is an interesting question and there the knowledge is very substandard.
We hardly know why people get post-covid.
So it is something that is already being researched and should be researched, says Ali Mirazimi.