COVID-19 infection will only provide limited immunity, warns Thai expert

BANGKOK — An expert on infectious diseases said that patients who have recovered from Covid-19 can get reinfected, but how soon depends very much on the subvariant they have been exposed to.

If you were infected by Omicron BA.1 or 2 previously, you could get infected again by the BA.4 or 5 subvariant within a month after recovery,” Dr Thiravat Hemachuda said in a Facebook post on Monday. “However, if you recover from a BA.4 or 5 infection, the immunity you have gained can protect you from reinfection by the same subvariants for two to three months.”

Thiravat is director of the Thai Red Cross Emerging Infectious Diseases Health Science Centre under Chulalongkorn University.

“Due to this, how fast Covid-19 spreads will depend on how the virus evolves in the future. It is estimated that by September and October this year, we can expect to see a new Omicron subvariant or an entirely new variant,” he added.

Thiravat added that the second generation Covid-19 vaccines being developed aim to prevent infection from Omicron BA.1-2 and BA.4-5. However, by the time these vaccines come out, the Covid-19 virus may have mutated further, rendering these vaccines inefficient.

“Therefore, we must work together on three aspects to stay safe from Covid-19,” Thiravat said. “The first is to prevent infection by avoiding high-risk places and wearing a facemask. Second, get at least three doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, preferably an mRNA jab to push your immunity as high as possible. And third, seek treatment immediately to prevent the virus from affecting other parts of the body. Proper treatment will help the body build immunity against the virus faster.”

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