Experts have long known that a COVID-19 infection provides partial protection against re-infection, however, initial research suggests that the immunity provided by the Omicron variant and its variants may not be as persistent as previous recurrences of the virus. . Carol, who asked CTV News Toronto to omit her last name, tested positive for COVID-19 three times since the pandemic began, despite being fully vaccinated. “It was exhausting,” Carol said in an interview Wednesday. The first infection was in early 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, while the two most recent occurred within a month this winter. All three infections were confirmed by rapid antigen testing. Carol’s youngest son contracted COVID-19 in late February – he believes he acquired it from a teammate who tested positive on the hockey team. A little later, Carol began to feel unwell. With a “scratched” throat and incessant sneezing, along with irritated eyes and ears, she almost misunderstood her symptoms as seasonal allergies. But to be safe, he decided to do a quick antigen test anyway. He returned positive for COVID-19. Carol and her family completed their isolation and recovered from the virus, after which she said they had a few days of “wellness”. In mid-March, her eldest son, a college student, began to show symptoms. “He was positive,” he said. Within a few days, Carol was feeling unwell again. This time, with a different set of symptoms. “It was like a brutal cold,” he said. Once again, her family was forced into isolation. The family’s symptoms were not serious and they were able to recover at home, but Carol said the time spent in solitary confinement and recovery twice affected her family. “He put pressure on my husband, who works full time and is our only provider,” she said. “Not only did he have to work long hours, but he also had to take on extra work at home, take care of the family, go shopping, prepare meals and go to and from school, school and sports, which as a result, he has to lose his job from time to time. “

REINFECTIONS ARE NORMAL

While re-infection can be amazing and cause major disruptions in daily life, infectious disease experts say Carol is not alone in her experience. In fact, they say re-infections are normal. In recent weeks, BA.2 – a “stolen”, more contagious subtype of Omicron than BA.1 or BA.1.1 – has been on the rise in the province, accounting for at least half of Ontario’s reported infections. “Because these viruses are not identical, the risk of infection has probably increased,” he said. Peter Juni, Scientific Director of the COVID-19 Scientific Advisory Board, Ontario, at CTV News Toronto on Wednesday. While the notion of re-infection may shatter the once-dominant narrative that a person infected with COVID-19 develops an immune shield, Juni said this troparion was “futile” from the start. “The response after Omicron is not as dramatic in terms of boosting your immunity, including your antibodies,” he said. “Your antibodies increase a little, but they start to decrease a little in overtime.” In particular, Omicron’s transmissibility has prospered because of the “secret to success,” as Juni put it, – its ability to bypass the immune system. “It means if you have a virus like Omicron… that can block the immune system. Once the antibodies start to decrease over time, you can become infected again. That’s normal, “said Johnny.

Despite the reality of re-infection, post-infection immunity is still important, according to Dr. Sumon Chakrabarti, an infectious disease specialist in Mississauga, Ont. Instead of eliminating the possibility of getting COVID-19 a second time, the first infection may protect a person from getting a serious illness a second time. “The virus may change a little so that the immune system does not recognize it immediately, but the virus itself is milder,” Chakrabarti said in an interview Wednesday. Just as he caught a cold in 2016 and then contracted another one a year later, Chakrabarti said the idea of ​​re-becoming infected with the same virus has been with us all our lives – COVID-19 is no exception. “Just like other respiratory viruses,” said Chakrabarti, “we will be infected with COVID-19 many times in our lives.” “It’s just going to be a normal part of life.”