ONLINE NEWS: ‘NEW VARIANTS CAN CAUSE REINFECTION’
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2022/09/08/new-variants-can-cause-reinfection
By IMRAN HILMY
Public measures: Health experts say the easing of precautions like mask wearing contributes to reinfection. — AZHAR MAHFOF/The StarGEORGE TOWN: She was careful to follow the Covid-19 standard operating procedures, but this did not prevent Ratana Kamma from being infected twice.
After catching the virus in March, Ratana, who works as a meeting, incentives, conferences and exhibitions specialist at an international resort here, said she tested positive again recently.
“I started feeling unwell one Sunday after dinner when I suddenly felt a sore throat coming on.
“I took a test on Monday, which came out negative. But when I took another test the next day, it came out positive.
“Despite testing negative at first, I still suspected I had caught the virus again because several of my office mates were down with Covid-19.
“However, this time my infection was not as severe. My sore throat was mild. It just felt like a normal flu and I am getting better already,” said Ratana, 23.
Universiti Sains Malaysia virologist Dr Kumitaa Theva Das said there were three main factors for reinfection – the emergence of new variants, waning immunity and the easing of Covid-19-related precautions like mask wearing and physical distancing.
“Before Omicron, there was only a very small risk of being reinfected in the span of 1.5 years,” she noted.
“But with the newer Omicron variants, we are at higher risk of being infected again, sometimes in as little as three weeks.
“While Covid-19 reinfections appear to be less severe than the first infection, the reinfections result in lasting health effects or long Covid, where people experience fatigue, increase in diabetes and have heart or lung problems.”
She said those who have received at least one vaccine shot are 24% less likely to infect close contacts compared to those unvaccinated, and each vaccine dose reduces the risk of passing on the virus by an additional 12%.
“However, for every five weeks that have passed since a person’s last vaccine dose, the risk of transmitting the infection increases by 6%, so it’s important to be up to date on boosters,” she added.
Meanwhile, another Covid-19 patient, who only wanted to be known as Shen, said he and several family members caught the virus but did not self-report it on the MySejahtera app.
The 45-year-old said that at the time, they were too overcome with grief as his mother who had cancer had died suddenly.
“I was working from home 100% but on June 23, I went to the office for a day for the first time in about 10 months to attend a durian party.
“Four days later, I woke up with a stuffy nose, a raw feeling in my throat and other flu symptoms,” he said.
The next day, on June 28, his mother died suddenly in Melaka.
He immediately made the seven-hour drive from Penang to Melaka.
Shen suspected he had caught Covid-19 only after stopping to eat at a highway rest area.
“I ate char koay teow and it was tasteless. I realised I had lost my sense of taste and smell, but I didn’t care because my mother had just died.
“I didn’t test myself. I didn’t report to MySejahtera. I just wanted to get back to Melaka,” he said.
Shen added that in the end, more than 10 of his family members fell sick at his mother’s funeral, but only his youngest sister tested herself and found out she was positive for Covid-19.
He said for everyone in his family, including his aunts and uncles in their 60s and 70s, the symptoms were mild and lasted less than a week.
“We were all too overcome with grief over my mother’s sudden death to care about anything else. All we had were the sniffles, sore throat and a loss of smell and taste,” he added.
Penang Hospital infectious disease unit head Datuk Dr Chow Ting Soo encouraged those who had tested positive for Covid-19 to still report their status on MySejahtera.
“It is the responsible thing to do.
“The data will help the country move towards a different strategy and be prepared for the next wave,” she said.
- Source from thestar.com.my
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