Has anyone had COVID twice?

[Not_a_Number]

Hey all, 

Looking for anecdata here... have people had COVID twice? If so, how did the two infections compare? 

Please let me know the variants you've had if you know! I'm especially curious about anyone who's had Omicron more than once. 

[Ausmumof3]

Not me but just had word of the first people we know. It was a ten month interval, and it was a young kid. Both first and second infections were mild and they only tested the second time because the school made them.

[BlsdMama]

My fourteen year old daughter had it twice. The second time was quicker and easier for her. 
 

My 20 year old had it twice and was fully vaccinated. Second time was slightly easier. Both times were essentially bad flu. I don’t know which strain. 

[Shoeless]

Some relatives have had covid 3 times. They are unvaccinated and do not mask.  Sense of smell is pretty much obliterated for one of the kids. All infections have been considered mild. 

[Not_a_Number]

1 minute ago, MissLemon said:

Some relatives have had covid 3 times. They are unvaccinated and do not mask.  Sense of smell is pretty much obliterated for one of the kids. All infections have been considered mild. 

That sucks about the sense of smell! Did that get worse with each infection? 

[YaelAldrich]

My two oldest have had covid twice (my oldest doesn't like to test but was finally forced to by his workplace). My oldest may have had covid 2-3 times by now.

I believe my oldest (only first mRNA vaccine then he refused)  (and the other kids aside from my second oldest) got COVID the first time March 2020 when my husband came home from Japan after being with many of the Jewish  cruise ship people stuck in Yokohama. They all had a light fever and a dry cough. I couldn't get them tested though because at the time they were only testing people coming from Wuhan. 🙄 The next time he may have gotten COVID was March 2021. He said it took him weeks to stop coughing and was bone tired. He just had COVID three weeks ago and he said it was bad but not as bad as second time. It still took him 2 weeks to feel mostly better 

My second oldest's (vaccinated but not boosted) first bout of covid was Dec 2020 had a 10 day bad cold, lost his sense of taste and smell, bad cough, some fever. He got COVID again in October. 3 days positive testing, mild cough, like a cold.

if my daughter (vaccinated and boosted) got COVID at the beginning she had it twice as well. First time was as above. Second time (June 2022) was 10 days of mild coughing, fatigue, sore throat.

My youngest (vaccinated and boosted) may have had covid at the beginning as above with a light fever and dry cough. But officially had never had COVID. 

 

 

 

[Shoeless]

1 minute ago, Not_a_Number said:

That sucks about the sense of smell! Did that get worse with each infection? 

The first infection took it out and it's never returned, as far as I am aware. I would guess they lost it with Delta? 

[Not_a_Number]

Just now, YaelAldrich said:

My two oldest have had covid twice (my oldest doesn't like to test but was finally forced to by his workplace). My oldest may have had covid 2-3 times by now.

I believe my oldest (only first mRNA vaccine then he refused)  (and the other kids aside from my second oldest) got COVID the first time March 2020 when my husband came home from Japan after being with many of the Jewish  cruise ship people stuck in Yokohama. They all had a light fever and a dry cough. I couldn't get them tested though because at the time they were only testing people coming from Wuhan. 🙄 The next time he may have gotten COVID was March 2021. He said it took him weeks to stop coughing and was bone tired. He just had COVID three weeks ago and he said it was bad but not as bad as second time. It still took him 2 weeks to feel mostly better 

My second oldest's (vaccinated but not boosted) first bout of covid was Dec 2020 had a 10 day bad cold, lost his sense of taste and smell, bad cough, some fever. He got COVID again in October. 3 days positive testing, mild cough, like a cold.

if my daughter (vaccinated and boosted) got COVID at the beginning she had it twice as well. First time was as above. Second time (June 2022) was 10 days of mild coughing, fatigue, sore throat.

My youngest (vaccinated and boosted) may have had covid at the beginning as above with a light fever and dry cough. But officially had never had COVID. 

 

Any long-term effects? 

[Not_a_Number]

Just now, MissLemon said:

The first infection took it out and it's never returned, as far as I am aware. I would guess they lost it with Delta? 

Makes sense. I remember Delta having that symptom much more prominently than Omicron. I actually haven't heard many people report it with Omicron. 

Gosh, I remember the Delta wave. It was scary 😕 . 

[YaelAldrich]

1 minute ago, Not_a_Number said:

Any long-term effects? 

Not that I know of. 

[Shoeless]

4 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

Makes sense. I remember Delta having that symptom much more prominently than Omicron. I actually haven't heard many people report it with Omicron. 

Gosh, I remember the Delta wave. It was scary 😕 . 

My dad and his wife had what was probably Omicron, (based on timing), but only once. They are vaxxed & boosted but no longer mask. It was a mild cold for my dad, (we spoke over zoom and he was only a little congested), and like the flu for his wife. She spent a few days sleeping and then bounced back. 

Sibling had Omicron once but seemed sicker from the paxlovid than the covid. 

Cousin's DH had what was probably Delta, and was very, very ill and required hospitalization, (no vaccines at that point). And he's a young, fit guy with a physical job. Delta was bad news. 

Edited November 11, 2022 by MissLemon

[Not_a_Number]

8 minutes ago, MissLemon said:

Cousin's DH had what was probably Delta, and was very, very ill and required hospitalization, (no vaccines at that point). And he's a young, fit guy with a physical job. Delta was bad news. 

Yeah, I was freaked out by Delta. Did he recover OK? 

I'm really hoping that Omicron + vaccines provides decent immunity to any further strains -- like, not necessarily enough immunity not to get sick, but maybe enough that it's less scary? 

[Not_a_Number]

13 minutes ago, YaelAldrich said:

Not that I know of. 

I'm glad! I'm hoping it doesn't have long-term effects for most people. 

[wathe]

I've seen mutliple pts through emerg and the covid/cold/flu clinic with repeat infections, who've insisted that what they had at the time of their visit couldn't be covid, because they'd had it before and their symptoms this time were different (and worse).  Of course it was covid.  

So, a  very self-selecting tiny data set that at least shows that repeat infections aren't always milder.

[Ausmumof3]

1 minute ago, wathe said:

I've seen mutliple pts through emerg and the covid/cold/flu clinic with repeat infections, who've insisted that what they had at the time of their visit couldn't be covid, because they'd had it before and their symptoms this time were different (and worse).  Of course it was covid.  

So, a  very self-selecting tiny data set that at least shows that repeat infections aren't always milder.

This reflects what I see in most studies and online comments etc. that the general thrust is reinfection is easier or the same but for some people it’s worse. I will say for my DH even if it was about the same running through an infection that resulted in 8 days in bed and O2 levels dropping and four weeks of coughing every twelve months seems like a really bad idea. He’s not really willing to take precautions beyond vaccination any more though, and he’s an adult so that’s his choice. 

[Shoeless]

11 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

Yeah, I was freaked out by Delta. Did he recover OK? 

As far as I know, yes, he's back to normal.  He's back at work and seems fine. 

[Ausmumof3]

Also sorry to come back again, but I think it’s important to keep in mind that for many reinfections at the moment the first round was delta and the second omicron, so the milder second round may be variant related. Omicron has been around long enough that we should start seeing the impact of repeat infections soon. Although the new variants are more immune evasive so it won’t be exact either. And we still don’t know if original antigenic sin is going to be a big issue or not.

[Not_a_Number]

7 minutes ago, wathe said:

I've seen mutliple pts through emerg and the covid/cold/flu clinic with repeat infections, who've insisted that what they had at the time of their visit couldn't be covid, because they'd had it before and their symptoms this time were different (and worse).  Of course it was covid.  

So, a  very self-selecting tiny data set that at least shows that repeat infections aren't always milder.

Absolutely. I do buy that. But obviously not a random set!! 

As usual, I like anecdata 🙂 . 

[Not_a_Number]

1 minute ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Also sorry to come back again, but I think it’s important to keep in mind that for many reinfections at the moment the first round was delta and the second omicron, so the milder second round may be variant related. Omicron has been around long enough that we should start seeing the impact of repeat infections soon. Although the new variants are more immune evasive so it won’t be exact either. And we still don’t know if original antigenic sin is going to be a big issue or not.

For sure. 

I'm especially interested in people who've had Omicron twice. 

[Spryte]

You might (or might not) be interested in this, from Nature, that came out today: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-02051-3

They were discussing it on NPR this morning, and it might be applicable. 

(Editing to say I just read on another thread that you’ve seen this, I think. NM then!)

I have not had Covid, but my closest local friend and her family have had it twice, six months apart. Second time just after being boosted. Both times likely omicron. The second time was worse, symptom-wise. It’s too soon to tell if there are long term effects, though. 

Edited November 11, 2022 by Spryte

[maize]

My younger kids had it November 2021 and July 2022. November was probably delta, July would have been one of the omicron variants.

They were all sicker with omicron than with delta.

[bookbard]

I know lots of people who have had covid twice locally, all Omicron (as Delta didn't really hit here at all). Two families unvaxxed, other families vaxxed. Most people have said it was the same experience, feeling really unwell for a week, then side effects after that (heart issues in two women I know, shingles in one woman, brain fog in two people etc). My niece had Omicron twice, only 6 weeks apart, with severe fevers, vomiting and generally feeling unwell both times. Fully vaxxed. I know one family who got Omicron earlier this year and 3 of the four have ended up having to see 3 different specialists including cardiology, neurology and ENT (ear nose throat), all 3 also got flu, vomiting virus and bad colds in the months post Covid (it became a running joke whenever I saw them about what sickness they had next). 

Because of my work, I know the stories of a lot of people in my area, and that is why I am so covid cautious. From the outside, everything seems fine. It's only when you start asking questions that you hear the truth. Shingles flaring up six months later. Brain fog still causing issues. It's invisible and unrecorded but it's going on everywhere. 

[wathe]

1 hour ago, Not_a_Number said:

For sure. 

I'm especially interested in people who've had Omicron twice. 

Some of my pts mentioned in my prev post were omi x 2 (based on timing. No sequencing to prove it)

[freesia]

Vaccinated dh has had it twice. The first time was July 2021–probably Delta. He ran super high temps 103-104 for days. He basically lay in bed doing nothing. He had light congestion. He had rebound symptoms of fever coming and going—but a negative test—about 19 days after he was done. I don’t think he had long Covid—but has struggled more with mental health the past year. He also has a racing heart at times but that may have been happening before. 
 

This September he had his second case—probably Omicron. He had no real fever, mild cold symptoms ( he says more than mild, but compared to ds it was and dh never handles colds well) with a little cough. He worked from isolation. The biggest symptom was fatigue, which did take a few weeks to recover from. 

[Mrs Tiggywinkle Again]

I actually have coworkers who have had it three times now, confirmed.  Most of us in the ambulance and ER all got it in October 2020.  I had brain fog and exhaustion, but overall it wasn’t bad.  Then I got it again in January 2021, just about a month after a booster.  I felt horrible—high fever, shortness of breath, severe body aches.  It still wasn’t as bad as the booster after effects though.  Many of my coworkers had Covid that month too.

Another Covid wave seemed to sweep through the ED/ambulance last month, giving people Covid a third time. Almost everyone has two boosters now, but it didn’t seem to make much difference in severity.  Some who had all the boosters were really sick to the point of needing the ER and some who haven’t had any boosters were fine.  
My mom who isn’t vaccinated at all had Covid and was barely sick for 12 hours. 

It seems very random at this point.  The vast majority of people I know are vaccinated, but I don’t know anyone(literally cannot even think of one) who is masking or taking any precautions at this point.

[Carrie12345]

My oldest two had it twice, pre and post vax.

Both had an easier go of round two, but I know my daughter had one especially rough day. 

My sister’s family has had multiple go rounds. Her kids are not covid vaxed and in school and daycare. They get EVERY illness though, and often real bad, so I don’t like to use them to compare!

 

[fairfarmhand]

My dh did. He got the first wave in December 2020. Then he got it again this spring. It was awful the first time. Very very sick for 6 days, horrible cough and pneumonia. Fatigue that lasted for 10-14 days. As in didn’t want to get off the sofa all day.

second time was like a bad cold/flu for 3ish days, but then all better.

[SKL]

I think it's hard to answer, since people don't test or the tests aren't sensitive enough when there's a mild case.

I suspect I had it at least 2x (had mild symptoms when others in the house had it), but I only have test evidence for 1x.

[Clemsondana]

The whole family had it in January this year and then spouse had it again over the summer.  Spouse was probably sickest in January, but by sick we mean 'mild flu-like symptoms where he continued to work from home most of the time' while the rest of us were 'sinus infection' or '24 hour bug' people.  The second time we thought it was allergies and wouldn't have tested except that the coworker he sat beside texted to say he had it.  Spouse felt icky, but not particularly worse than I, the allergy queen, feel for several weeks each year.  During both, he/we continued with most daily work (although we wouldn't have been up to working if our job was physical labor, things like folding laundry and cooking were fine) and we went for a 20+ minute walk every day (we live on a couple of acres so plenty of outside space that isn't on top of people).  Among our co-op board, a couple of people have had it twice - they all had it fairly early.  It's possible that others in our family have had it twice, since if it was any more mild than it was the first time we likely wouldn't have noticed it against our usual background in a place that swirls through bad seasonal allergens with little let-up.    

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I've had it twice, once in Aug 2020 and again two weeks ago.  In Aug 2020, I had a high (104 degree) fever and had a diminished sense of taste and smell but I didn't feel horrible. I used the isolation time to read, read some more, and watch Hamilton. It was a glorious time of not having to do anything but have food brought up to me and relax. I was fine after the fifth day (tested neg) and there were no residual symptoms.

This time - oh baby, what a difference. I had a fever (102) and the most severe muscle aches I have ever had (and I have fibro and am used to muscle and joint pain). It was the knock me down on the couch leave me alone don't touch me why are there stairs kind of pain. I also had a cough and a slightly runny nose. The weird part is that my gums became inflamed and my teeth hurt. I am not recovering well at all.  It took 12 days to test negative and the symptoms are lingering. I have an intermittent cough and runny nose. I become fatigued easily (slept 11 hours last night after a 6 mile walk). The weirdest thing is my blood pressure has tanked. I have been on the verge of going to the ER a few times due to hypotension. The lowest reading was 91/47. I was so lightheaded, dizzy, muddled - it was frightening. My BP has been hanging around 96/60 (low normal) but I no longer walk on my own (always go with a friend or DH), no longer ride my bike (for fear of falling off). If the hypotension continues over the next couple of weeks, I will go to the doctor. It will have to be the ER, though, since appts are now being scheduled for Jan 2023 (thanks hospital closure).

Edited November 11, 2022 by Granny_Weatherwax

[prairiewindmomma]

We have friends and family who had January infections, summer infections and now late fall wave infections. There doesn’t appear to be a correlation to subsequent infections being milder. That has been true for some, but not all. What I am seeing is more long COVID from that group, a subset for sure, but a growing one. 

[prairiewindmomma]

I saw this morning that Evusheld is also becoming less effective. I really feel badly for older transplant patients…https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/11/health/evusheld-covid-variants/index.html 

[SoCal_Bear]

Reinfection is really something to be avoided. People don't realize how life-changing long Covid is and the rate of long Covid is around 1 in 5 or 1 in 6. Long Covid has really upended destroyed my life from my one infection (vax'd and boosted). Long Covid is quite common with mild and even asymptomatic Covid now. Something like 7.5% of the population is currently dealing with long Covid symptoms.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/repeat-covid-riskier-first-infection-160323961.html

Edited November 11, 2022 by calbear

[whitestavern]

16 hours ago, Spryte said:

You might (or might not) be interested in this, from Nature, that came out today: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-02051-3

They were discussing it on NPR this morning, and it might be applicable. 

(Editing to say I just read on another thread that you’ve seen this, I think. NM then!)

I have not had Covid, but my closest local friend and her family have had it twice, six months apart. Second time just after being boosted. Both times likely omicron. The second time was worse, symptom-wise. It’s too soon to tell if there are long term effects, though. 

From the article: 

“The aim of our analyses was to examine the health risks associated with those individuals who had reinfection (compared to no reinfection). Our analyses should not be interpreted as an assessment of severity of a second infection versus that of a first infection, nor should they be interpreted as an examination of the risks of adverse health outcomes after a second infection compared to risks incurred after a first infection.”
 

Seems like that’s exactly how people are interpreting this. 

[BeachGal]

46 minutes ago, calbear said:

Reinfection is really something to be avoided. People don't realize how life-changing long Covid is and the rate of long Covid is around 1 in 5 or 1 in 6. Long Covid has really upended destroyed my life from my one infection (vax'd and boosted). Long Covid is quite common with mild and even asymptomatic Covid now. Something like 7.5% of the population is currently dealing with long Covid symptoms.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/repeat-covid-riskier-first-infection-160323961.html

There are some concerns about the stats in this VA study. It’s likely that second infections can cause long Covid but they need better designed studies.

On a positive note, scientists around the world are figuring out the pathways for the different types of long Covid and are already treating some patients successfully. It’s pretty amazing actually.

Best to not get reinfected though.

eta: Ugh. Sorry you’re dealing with LC. 

Edited November 11, 2022 by BeachGal

[SoCal_Bear]

23 minutes ago, BeachGal said:

There are some concerns about the stats in this VA study. It’s likely that second infections can cause long Covid but they need better designed studies.

On a positive note, scientists around the world are figuring out the pathways for the different types of long Covid and are already treating some patients successfully. It’s pretty amazing actually.

Best to not get reinfected though.

eta: Ugh. Sorry you’re dealing with LC. 

I can tell you in the surveys done in the long covid communities. 2nd infections are causing worsening of symptoms. Like this one for example. https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/new-survey-suggests-reinfection-worsens-long-covid

and there are many popping up in the LC communities who are getting LC after their 2nd, 3rd or 4th bout with Covid and they really thought they were bullet proof because of their prior infections.

Edited November 11, 2022 by calbear

[ScoutTN]

Dh had it at the very, very beginning, February 2020,  then again in January of 2021. 
 

First time: shallow, dry cough, night sweats/fever, headache. No fever in the daytime.

Second time like a bad cold. Head congestion, some cough, but not deep or long, fever for a day or two, headache. Fatigue for about a week after symptoms went away. Kids got this same variant, but were asymptomatic. 

He does not have any residual symptoms, thankfully.

Edited November 12, 2022 by ScoutTN

[BeachGal]

13 minutes ago, calbear said:

I can tell you in the surveys done in the long covid communities. 2nd infections are causing worsening of symptoms. Like this one for example. https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/new-survey-suggests-reinfection-worsens-long-covid

and there are many popping up in the LC communities who are getting LC after their 2nd, 3rd or 4th bout with Covid and they really thought they were bullet proof because of their prior infections.

Yes, I’m following longhaulers closely and am reading that too in some cases but that VA study’s data is mostly elderly and unvaccinated. We need data for younger vaccinated people. Some institutions in the US are gathering info so we should get better data hopefully soon.

Most important is to figure out why people develop long Covid and then the treatment protocols.

[kristin0713]

My mom had one of the first “breakthrough” cases of most likely Delta. It was like a mild flu and did not last long. Then last summer she had another case, even more mild, just like a cold. She caught it from my dad who was worse but not too bad either. And they were both twice boosted. Not sure if it was omicron or something else at that point. They got it in Germany in August. 

[Not_a_Number]

21 hours ago, Spryte said:

I have not had Covid, but my closest local friend and her family have had it twice, six months apart. Second time just after being boosted. Both times likely omicron. The second time was worse, symptom-wise. It’s too soon to tell if there are long term effects, though. 

What made the symptoms worse the second time? 

[Not_a_Number]

15 hours ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle Again said:

I actually have coworkers who have had it three times now, confirmed.  Most of us in the ambulance and ER all got it in October 2020.  I had brain fog and exhaustion, but overall it wasn’t bad.  Then I got it again in January 2021, just about a month after a booster.  I felt horrible—high fever, shortness of breath, severe body aches.  It still wasn’t as bad as the booster after effects though.  Many of my coworkers had Covid that month too.

Another Covid wave seemed to sweep through the ED/ambulance last month, giving people Covid a third time. Almost everyone has two boosters now, but it didn’t seem to make much difference in severity.  Some who had all the boosters were really sick to the point of needing the ER and some who haven’t had any boosters were fine.  
My mom who isn’t vaccinated at all had Covid and was barely sick for 12 hours. 

It seems very random at this point.  The vast majority of people I know are vaccinated, but I don’t know anyone(literally cannot even think of one) who is masking or taking any precautions at this point.

Any impressions on how later infections compare to earlier ones? Are people developing long-term symptoms? 

[lewelma]

21 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Also sorry to come back again, but I think it’s important to keep in mind that for many reinfections at the moment the first round was delta and the second omicron, so the milder second round may be variant related. Omicron has been around long enough that we should start seeing the impact of repeat infections soon. Although the new variants are more immune evasive so it won’t be exact either. And we still don’t know if original antigenic sin is going to be a big issue or not.

NZ will be an interesting case study as we have only had Omicron.  Reinfections are only starting now. 

[Not_a_Number]

Just now, lewelma said:

NZ will be an interesting case study as we have only had Omicron.  Reinfections are only starting now. 

Yes, that'll be interesting. 

Do you know many people who've had Omicron once? 

[Not_a_Number]

13 hours ago, Granny_Weatherwax said:

I've had it twice, once in Aug 2020 and again two weeks ago.  In Aug 2020, I had a high (104 degree) fever and had a diminished sense of taste and smell but I didn't feel horrible. I used the isolation time to read, read some more, and watch Hamilton. It was a glorious time of not having to do anything but have food brought up to me and relax. I was fine after the fifth day (tested neg) and there were no residual symptoms.

This time - oh baby, what a difference. I had a fever (102) and the most severe muscle aches I have ever had (and I have fibro and am used to muscle and joint pain). It was the knock me down on the couch leave me alone don't touch me why are there stairs kind of pain. I also had a cough and a slightly runny nose. The weird part is that my gums became inflamed and my teeth hurt. I am not recovering well at all.  It took 12 days to test negative and the symptoms are lingering. I have an intermittent cough and runny nose. I become fatigued easily (slept 11 hours last night after a 6 mile walk). The weirdest thing is my blood pressure has tanked. I have been on the verge of going to the ER a few times due to hypotension. The lowest reading was 91/47. I was so lightheaded, dizzy, muddled - it was frightening. My BP has been hanging around 96/60 (low normal) but I no longer walk on my own (always go with a friend or DH), no longer ride my bike (for fear of falling off). If the hypotension continues over the next couple of weeks, I will go to the doctor. It will have to be the ER, though, since appts are now being scheduled for Jan 2023 (thanks hospital closure).

I'm really sorry you're still not doing well! 😞 That sucks. 

I hope you don't mind me asking, but which vaccines did you have? 

[lewelma]

3 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

Yes, that'll be interesting. 

Do you know many people who've had Omicron once? 

It hit us hard and fast. I'm guessing 70% have had omicron since it arrived in February. For example, my ds's dorm floor had 18 out of 20 students get it on the same day!  They went to the welcome-to-university party, had 100 kids in a closed room for 4 hours, dancing, with no masking. At the time, there was THREE cases in Chrischurch (confirmed by wastewater), and the Aucklanders had been released that week. So clearly, one of the 100 kids had omicron, showed up at university, and gave it to *everyone* at that one party. 

Here are the variants up to August. At this point 40% of people had TESTED positive.  Wastewater was showing way way higher numbers. 

[Not_a_Number]

Just now, lewelma said:

t hit us hard and fast. I'm guessing 70% have had omicron since it arrived in February. For example, my ds's dorm floor had 18 out of 20 students get it on the same day!  They went to the welcome-to-university party, had 100 kids in a closed room for 4 hours, dancing, with no masking. At the time, there was THREE cases in Chrischurch (confirmed by wastewater), and the Aucklanders had been released that week. So clearly, one of the 100 kids had omicron, showed up at university, and gave it to *everyone* at that one party. 

NY had the same kind of thing last January. We managed to avoid it because we were still being careful. (And because I refused to get on a plane in the middle of the Omicron wave! That decision has aged well, let me tell you.) 

What's your impression of how people are doing with it? We've had lots of friends get it, and most have had something like cold- to flu-like symptoms. I do know people with some lingering issues, though. 

[Not_a_Number]

I guess even the anecdata is likely to be corrupted, since if people are having a second infection that's very mild or asymptomatic, they may not even test 😕 . 

I do NOT understand why we don't have good studies of health issues immediately after large Omicron waves. That would probably be the most reliable thing we could do -- as @lewelma notes, Omicron tends to strike everyone all at once, so there should be no trouble getting signal there!!! 

[lewelma]

We think my mother-in-law has had it twice. She got really really really sick with all covid symptoms in December 2019. Basically, too early for her to have gotten it in Cleveland. But then she got omicron last month and was slightly sick for ONE day, at 92 years old. We started asking her questions about December 2019, and it came out that she goes to the gym that all the doctors from the Cleveland Clinic go to, and some of them do regularly go to china.  So we are now thinking that yes, she did have Alpha. 

[Not_a_Number]

3 minutes ago, lewelma said:

We think my mother-in-law has had it twice. She got really really really sick with all covid symptoms in December 2019. Basically, too early for her to have gotten it in Cleveland. But then she got omicron last month and was slightly sick for ONE day, at 92 years old. We started asking her questions about December 2019, and it came out that she goes to the gym that all the doctors from the Cleveland Clinic go to, and some of them do regularly go to china.  So we are now thinking that yes, she did have Alpha. 

Fascinating.

There really is good evidence that natural immunity from prior variants works very well against Omicron. Better than the vaccines by a long shot. 

[Ausmumof3]

45 minutes ago, lewelma said:

NZ will be an interesting case study as we have only had Omicron.  Reinfections are only starting now. 

Same for my state. Melbourne and Sydney are harder to extrapolate from. hospitalisations are climbing fast here but that could be mostly first infections as many of the more cautious older people are now being exposed.