More people are catching coronavirus a second time, heightening long COVID risk, experts say
LA TimesEmerging evidence suggests that catching the coronavirus a second time can heighten long-term health risks, a worrisome development as the circulation of increasingly contagious Omicron subvariants leads to greater numbers of Californians being reinfected. So we’ve got to stay on that front footing and continue fighting this thing.” As it relates specifically to long COVID — a condition in which symptoms can persist months or even years after an initial infection — getting vaccinated and boosted probably reduces risk, but studies differ as to the degree of protection. “I think having some preexisting immunity — whether it’s natural or from a vaccine — appears to reduce your risk of long COVID, but it’s still there. “The number of patients I’m seeing who were vaccinated and boosted who are coming in with long COVID is very low,” said Dr. Nisha Viswanathan, director of the UCLA Health Long COVID Program. Viswanathan said she’s had patients who have seen their long COVID symptoms improve, then get sickened with another bout of COVID-19, and then see long COVID signs return.