People who have already been infected with coronavirus and who are protected by antibodies can still carry the virus and infect others, according to a study in England.
The study, called “SARS-COV-2 Immunity and Reinfection Assessment” (SIREN) and conducted between June 18 and November 24, 2020, also found that although reinfection is possible, it appears to be rare, at least in the first five months after getting sick.
The study was first published at the end of last week. It was written about in the peer-reviewed newspaper The BMJ and the scientific journal Nature, among other publications. Of the study participants who had already fallen ill (about 6,600), only 44 (less than 1%) were reinfected with the virus. In other words, the immune response of a first infection reduced the risk of getting the virus again by 83%.
Of the approximately 14,000 people who had not been previously infected in the study, 318 tested positive for the virus (2.3%).
The researchers do not know how long the protection lasts beyond the study period.
In addition, those who were reinfected generally did not suffer from serious illnesses. Only about 30% of people with possible reinfection reported any symptoms, compared with 78% of people who contracted the virus for the first time.
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But, as noted, sometimes those who recovered and were reinfected had high viral loads, which means that there was still a high chance of transmitting the virus to others.
Last week, during a ceremony that marked the vaccination of Israel’s two million citizen, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had several conversations with the health minister and other professionals to put the green passport plan into effect as soon as possible, “Which will allow us to start bringing life back to normal. “But he said,” Even when we do, we will have to continue wearing masks for the younger population and those who have not been vaccinated. ” The study was not done to provide insight into the effects of the vaccine. In addition, the researchers noted that the goal was not to assess whether the symptoms were better or worse during the second infection, and this question requires further evaluation. The subjects were mostly young middle-aged women who, in any case, tend to have less severe symptoms than older people.
Finally, the study was conducted mainly before the British mutation, which could alter the dynamics of its results. Some have suggested that the existence of mutations would decrease the effectiveness of the immune response, but more research is needed. This is not the first published study on reinfection. Another study published in November, also in England, found that people with the virus are very likely to contract it again for at least six months after their first infection.
