Earlier coronavirus infection protects against BA.4 and BA.5. New research and some important details
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Omikron BA.4 and BA.5 are variants of the coronavirus that are extremely effective at evading the immune system’s defenses. However, recent research by scientists in Qatar has shown that an earlier COVID-19 outbreak offers some protection against reinfection with new Omicron sub-variants. However, a lot depends on the individual’s immune profile and history of coronavirus infections.

  1. Qatar scientists analyzed the risk of reinfection with BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants in people who had previously had COVID-19
  2. The results showed that if we have been infected with the coronavirus, we may be somewhat immune to reinfection
  3. Early treatment of Omikron in particular reduces the risk of infection with BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants and the development of a symptomatic disease
  4. The research paper of Qatar experts was pre-printed on July 12 and has not yet been reviewed. Now, Nature.com writes about the research
  5. More information can be found on the TvoiLokony home page

Greater resistance to BA.4 and BA.5 after previous COVID-19 disease

According to a study recently published by scientists in Qatar the risk of reinfection with Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants is lower if we have previously contracted COVID-19. Such an effect is possible in the case of infection with the Alpha, Beta or Delta variants. A much more effective protection, however, is provided by previous infection with previous Omikron sub-variants.

Such conclusions were drawn by the researchers after analyzing all the COVID-19 cases in Qatar that were detected since the beginning of the wave of infections with Omikron BA.4 and BA.5. The work was pre-printed on July 12 and has not yet been reviewed.

Each person has an individual immune profile that has been shaped in the context of the coronavirus by different combinations of COVID-19 vaccines and infections with different variants of the coronavirus. According to the infectious disease epidemiologist Laith Abu-Raddad, increasing our understanding of the impact of the various types of immunity combined could prove vital to the future of the pandemic.

Natural resistance to Omikron

Based on an analysis of COVID-19 cases in Qatar between May 7 and July 4, 2022, researchers assessed the extent to which previous coronavirus infections protected against Omicron’s BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants.

The conclusions drawn from the scientific analysis were as follows:

  1. previous infection caused by variants of the coronavirus prior to Omikron reduces the risk of BA.4 and BA.5 reinfection by 28,3%, and the risk of symptomatic reinfection by 15,1%;
  2. A previous infection with Omikron protects against infection caused by BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants with an efficiency of 79,7%.It also provides protection against symptomatic re-infection at the level of 76,1%.

Higher protection against any type of reinfection than against symptomatic reinfection may seem illogical. However, scientists assure that such results are in line with previous scientific research. It is probably also related to the tools used in statistical measurements (high confidence interval for the adopted values).

Do you have symptoms of an infection and want to check for COVID-19? Check in for respiratory swabs using the Real Time RT-PCR method.

Zobacz: Alfa, Delta, Omikron – who are the various COVID-19 variants?

The time interval between infections matters

Tokyo University virologist Kei Sato points out that the results could have been affected by the time lag between the first and second infections. Earlier variants of the coronavirus have been around for much longer than the Omicron that appeared after the end of 2021. Scientific evidence also shows that natural resistance to SARS-CoV-2 declines over time. A person’s vaccination status may also be relevant. One factor to consider is whether the patient developed a primary infection before or after vaccination.

Epidemioloh Abu-Raddad emphasizes that the conducted analysis did not focus on natural immunity in the context of specific coronavirus strains. The aim of the study was to determine who is currently most at risk of reinfection. As it turns out, the lower probability of infection with BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants applies in particular to people who had contact with earlier versions of Omikron.

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