Is it possible to get reinfected with Omicron? – CTV

February 14, 2022

Canada has seen more than three million recovered cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. While overcoming symptoms and returning to a normal state of health may come with a sigh of relief, experts say previous infection doesn’t necessarily prevent someone from contracting the virus again.

According to Dr. Sumon Chakrabarti, an infectious diseases physician with Trillium Health Partners in Mississauga, Ont., the possibility of being reinfected with COVID-19 has existed throughout the pandemic. It’s also possible to be reinfected with the same strain of COVID-19, said Dr. Martha Fulford, an infectious disease specialist at McMaster Children’s Hospital in Hamilton, Ont. However, the chances of severe disease in this case are lower, she said.

“We know that you can get reinfected with the same strain, but…our immune system works to build antibodies to the strain that you’re first exposed to, and those antibodies are usually very good at preventing symptomatic disease again,” she told CTVNews.ca on Wednesday in a phone interview.

Read more: https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/is-it-possible-to-get-reinfected-with-omicron-1.5780170