Recurrent infections from coronavirus the same person significantly increases the risk of problems in various organs of the body, hospitalization or death, shows the new American Scientific research. The more times it’s gone COVID-19 the same person, this increases the risk for their lungs, heart, brain, blood, musculoskeletal system and gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, as well as for diabetes and mental disorders.

Researchers led by clinical epidemiologist Ziad Al-Ali of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, who published his paper in the medical journal Nature Medicine, analyzed the medical records of approximately 5.8 million people, of whom 443,000 had had one Covid-19 infection and another 41,000 people had two or more Covid-19 infections between March 2020 and April 2022 (most had two or three reinfections, some had four, none had five).

The study considered all known variants such as Delta, Omicron and its sub-variants. It found that, overall, people who were re-infected with the coronavirus were twice as likely to die and three times more likely to need hospitalization compared to those who had never been re-infected.

In addition, people who are re-infected are 3.5 times more likely to have lung problems, three times more likely to have heart problems, and one and a half times more likely to have brain problems, compared with those who had Covid-19 once. .

Feeling “invincible” is a trap

“Our findings have a broad public health impact as they point to the need to implement strategies to prevent or reduce the risk of reinfection. As the winter season approaches, people should be aware of the risks and take care to reduce the risk of infection or reinfection with SARS-CoV-2,” said Dr Al Ali.

“Over the past few months, there has been a widespread feeling of ‘invincibility’ among people who have been ill with Covid-19 or have been vaccinated and boosted, especially among those who have contracted the coronavirus and also received the vaccine. Some have started calling these people hypersensitive to the virus. But our study shows beyond any doubt that a second, third or fourth reinfection contributes to additional health risks both in the acute phase, i.e. the first 30 days after infection, and in the following months, i.e. in the long phase of Covid- 19. . The risk increases with each new infection. In other words, if you’ve had two Covid-19 infections, it’s better to prevent a third, and if you’ve had three, it’s better to prevent a fourth,” he stressed.

As winter approaches and new strains of the coronavirus continue to emerge due to its constant mutations, cases are expected to rise again. That’s why, Al-Ali added, “People should do everything they can to prevent reinfection by wearing a mask, getting booster shots and staying home when they’re sick. It is also good that they are vaccinated against the flu, as this is necessary to reduce the possibility of a double epidemic of Covid-19 and influenza this winter,” he added.

^{Source: APE-MEB}