Immunity acquired through previous infection is less effective against Omicron than against other variants, but the risk of severe COVID-19 remains low.
. Now Abu-Raddad and others are revealing how well Omicron can evade antibodies produced during previous SARS-CoV-2 infections. “The ability of Omicron to infect people with either vaccine- or infection-derived immunity is a key part of what made the recent surge so large,” says Marm Kilpatrick, an infectious-disease researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Understanding reinfection rates is crucial for assessing “how infections might surge and if hospitals will be able to cope”, says Catherine Bennett, an epidemiologist at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia.The first signs of Omicron’s immune-evasive properties came from data collected in South Africa, says Bennett.
The UK Office for National Statistics in Newport has also seen a sharp increase in possible reinfections in recent months, as part of its random sampling of households across the country. The survey counts a possible reinfection if four months have passed since the previous one. The reinfection risk was 16 times higher between mid-December last year and early January this year when Omicron dominated, than in the 7 months leading up to December when Delta was the dominant variant.
Such surveys could be underestimating the true rate of reinfection because some infections go undiagnosed, and some could have happened sooner after the first infection — especially in countries where cases of Omicron quickly followed a Delta wave, says Bennett. Multiple factors could explain the spike in reinfections, she says. With more people now already exposed to the virus, there is a higher chance of seeing reinfections. Omicron’s speedy spread also increases the chance. But the variant’s ability to evade immunity is probably playing a part, says Bennett.
France Dernières Nouvelles, France Actualités
Similar News:Vous pouvez également lire des articles d'actualité similaires à celui-ci que nous avons collectés auprès d'autres sources d'information.
Bill Gates: Omicron did ‘a better job’ building immunity than COVID-19 vaccinesBillionaire Bill Gates said the omicron variant moved faster than COVID-19 vaccines, creating a high level of natural immunity.
Lire la suite »
Covid-19: Four more Covid-related deaths and 2,235 casesThe total number of deaths linked to the virus reported by Stormont's Department of Health is 3,184 plus .
Lire la suite »
COVID reinfections surge during Omicron onslaughtImmunity acquired through previous infection is less effective against Omicron than against other variants, but the risk of severe COVID-19 remains low.
Lire la suite »
Who is dying of COVID amid omicron surge and widespread vaccine availability?As of Wednesday, the nation is reporting 2,200 new COVID daily deaths on average. While most U.S. COVID deaths are made up of unvaccinated people, there is a small percentage of fully vaccinated Americans who are getting breakthrough infections and dying.
Lire la suite »
As omicron surge wanes, long COVID clinician expects 'continued high demand' for careMany Massachusetts residents are rethinking precautions as the latest COVID surge peters out. But concerns over an ensuing potential increase of so-called long COVID are starting to crop up among experts studying and treating the condition, which can be debilitating.
Lire la suite »
For subscribers: Will the Omicron surge explode the need for long-term COVID care?Will COVID-19 long-haulers push outpatient medical system to breaking point?
Lire la suite »