Woman, 31, catches Covid twice within three weeks in Spain

Scientists have reported that a woman in Spain caught Covid twice within 20 days.

The healthcare worker tested positive a few days before Christmas in December of 2016 and again in January of 2022, according to researchers in Spain. The Omicron variant can evade immunity from previous infections.

The woman, who had received a booster shot 12 days before, tested positive for a drug in a screening test at work on December 20. She self-isolated for 10 days before returning to work.

She developed a cough, a temperature and felt unwell just 20 days after she first tested positive. This was positive.

The patient had been exposed to two different Covid variants. Her first infections were with the Delta variant and the Omicron variant, both of which are known to be more infectious and can evade immunity from past infections.

The case highlights the potential of the Omicron variant to evade the previous immunity acquired.

She said that the case underscored the importance of genomic monitoring.

The UK requires 90 days between positive tests for infections. According to official figures, almost 900% of the people in England had been exposed to Covid up to the start of April. The number is not exact because only whole-genome sequencing can determine whether an infection is caused by one variant or another.

Paul Hunter, a professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, said that this case is not surprising. We have known for a while that there will be re infections. The Omicron variant has an escapemutation that makes it more likely that it will be re-infections.

It is possible that prior infections with Omicron will make re-infection less likely now that Omicron is the dominant variant. Scientists had predicted that as Covid-19 moves into an endemic phase, there would be reinfections within three months to five years.

Hunter said that we can expect more waves of infections even without new ones. With time, we will see fewer and fewer severe illnesses and deaths.

The report shows the ability of the Omicron variant, and its sub-variants, to reinfect even those individuals who are not carriers.