The summer wave rolls through Germany.
The official incidences only serve as a guide, the number of unreported cases is significantly higher.
So far, so well known.
What is new, however, is that in this wave, many who have already been infected become infected.
Here are the most important questions and answers on the subject of reinfection.
Lucy Schmidt
Editor in the "Life" department of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper.
Follow I follow
Why is it possible to become infected with Corona several times in a short time?
Due to the mutability of the virus and the constantly emerging variants, Corona can trick our immune system again and again.
For example, a body infected with the BA.1 variant can become infected again with BA.4 and BA.5.
The variants are so different that the learned immune system does not function 100%.
Experts say, especially about the omicron variants, they leave a rather poor immunity.
Because the courses are often mild, fewer antibodies and memory T cells are formed.
Data from the USA show: After a delta infection, patients had an antibody titre that was ten times higher than that of an omicron infection - i.e. also a presumably higher protection against reinfection.
An infection does not act as a super booster or safe immune protection.
For this reason, it makes no sense to intentionally become infected with Corona.
But if it does hit you, it may be comforting: The data shows that vaccinated people who have recovered probably have much more effective protection against reinfection over a longer period of time than only those who have recovered or only those who have been vaccinated.
Does the disease become less severe the more often I get infected?
There is no general answer to this - because that is also due to the different variants.
If the course of the disease becomes more difficult again due to a new variant, this naturally also applies to the course of reinfections.
But - and this is the good news: it can currently be observed that a second or third infection tends to be milder.
Can post-Covid or long-Covid symptoms only appear after a second or third infection?
This is still the subject of research.
A preprint study from the US by scientists from Washington University of Medicine and the VA Saint Louis Health Care System suggests that reinfection could trigger long-term consequences - i.e. cause more frequent and worse organ damage or other persistent symptoms than an initial infection.
According to this, long-Covid risks also increase for vaccinated people in the event of reinfection.
But large and reliable data sets are still missing.
When should I get vaccinated (again) after an infection?
The Stiko also recommends people who have already had one or more infections to be vaccinated.
However, there should be a gap of at least three months between infection and vaccination.
This also applies to booster vaccinations.
Stiko currently recommends a fourth vaccination for all people aged 70 and over, residents and those cared for in old people’s and nursing homes, as well as people at risk of developing a severe course of the disease or an immune deficiency, as well as employees in health and nursing facilities.
Experts also advise all these people not to wait for an adapted omicron vaccine in the fall.
For everyone else, the recommendation for the fourth vaccination will probably come in the fall, when special vaccines against the omicron variant come onto the market.
How quickly can I get infected again after an infection?
Although most people would like to live a carefree life for at least a few weeks after their illness, science does not yet have a clear answer to this question.
Everyday observations show that many who were once ill do not get infected again in the first few weeks - even if they have had close contact with an infected person.
But here, too, exceptions prove the rule.
How quickly reinfection can happen is still the subject of research and probably also depends very individually on the person, their immunity and their vaccination status.