As research suggests that COVID-19 has infected roughly half of the Canadian population, the emergence of an even more contagious version of the virus means some people may be in for another round.
But questions remain about the prevalence of reinfection, and the short and long-term health impact that subsequent cases of the virus could have.
"All we know is that it can happen," said Hankins, a professor at McGill University. "This particular variant is really capable of evading immunity, including immunity to its previous ... subvariant." Lynora Saxinger, a professor with the University of Alberta's department of medicine, said BA.5 is different enough from previous strains that the immunity built up by a case of an earlier variant may not prevent infection.HOW MUCH PROTECTION DO YOU GET FROM 'HYBRID IMMUNITY'?
Saxinger said that BA.5 may be even more adept at breaking through hybrid protection, but at this point, it's uncommon for people who have had Omicron to be reinfected by one of its relatives. "It seems to vary a lot by people," she said. "The general expectation would be that you wouldn't be as sick the second time around, but we're seeing everything."
"Some cavalier people say, 'I'm just going to get infected a few times, and then I'll be fine,"' he added."There is a suggestion that multiple infections can contribute to longer symptoms. But again, this is something we don't know enough about.""Everyone wants a quick answer and says, 'Okay, I want to know what to do. And I want to get this behind me,"' Jha said. "But the virus works on its own timetable.
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