Getting reinfected with Covid twice or even three times is unfortunate, but it's certainly not impossible.
You or someone you know may have endured multiple cases of coronavirus as the pandemic has entered its third year.
It comes as a healthcare worker in Spain caught the virus twice in 20 days in what is believed to be the shortest period between cases in one person.
The unlucky 31-year-old caught Delta first, then Omicron in less than three weeks.
If you're facing your second bout of Covid, here's what you'll want to know.
First off, you might wonder how likely it is to happen.
How common is it to get the virus again?
The UK began tracking data on reinfections in February 2022.
There are currently 3,976 cases in Scotland of which 12.9 percent are reinfections.
According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), a repeat infection is defined by catching Covid 90 days or more after a previous infection because people can continue to test positive weeks after their illness.
With that in mind, a UKHSA report from March 6 said 715,154 reinfections have been identified in England since the beginning of the pandemic.
To go even further, the agency stated that 7,640 of those infections are third infections and 62 are fourth episodes.
How long does immunity last?
Studies show that immunity from getting the virus lessens over time - and fades faster than immunity from a Covid vaccine, Johns Hopkins Medicine reports.
Regarding the case of the healthcare worker who got Covid twice over 20 days, Dr Gemma Recio, of the Institut Catala de la Salut, said that it highlights how capable the Omicron variant is to reinfect people.
She said: "In other words, people who have had Covid-19 cannot assume they are protected against reinfection, even if they have been fully vaccinated.
"Nevertheless, both previous infection with other variants and vaccination do seem to partially protect against severe disease and hospitalisation in those with Omicron.
"This case also underscores the need to carry out genomic surveillance of viruses in infections in those who are fully vaccinated and in reinfections."
Covid reinfection signs
You'll gain immunity from having had the virus, but the NHS says it's not clear how long it lasts.
How strong your symptoms are depends on the sub-variant and your vaccination status.
Office of National Statistics (ONS) data says that with reinfections of the Alpha variant, which was identified in the UK in November 2020, symptoms were less common - but the opposite was true with Delta.
When Omicron was dominant, the ONS reported, people were "just as likely" to have symptoms in their second infection as in their first.
There are ongoing studies on whether symptoms are more severe in repeat infections, the CDC says.
The NHS's list of Covid symptoms in adults are:
- a high temperature or shivering (chills) – a high temperature means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
- a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours
- a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
- shortness of breath
- feeling tired or exhausted
- an aching body
- a headache
- a sore throat
- a blocked or runny nose
- loss of appetite
- diarrhoea
- feeling sick or being sick
Symptoms of the virus in children can include:
- a high temperature or shivering (chills) – a high temperature means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
- a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours
- a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
- shortness of breath
- feeling tired or exhausted
- an aching body
- a headache
- a sore throat
- a blocked or runny nose
- loss of appetite
- diarrhoea
- feeling sick or being sick
What to do if you have Covid again
If you're experiencing Covid symptoms again - or have a high temperature or don't feel well enough to get up to your normal activities - the NHS advice is to try to stay home and avoid contact with other people.
"Take extra care to avoid close contact with anyone who is at higher risk of getting seriously ill from COVID-19," writes the NHS.
"You can go back to your normal activities when you feel better or do not have a high temperature."
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