Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025

Covid: Why are so many people catching it again?

Covid: Why are so many people catching it again?

In the early days of the pandemic, it was extremely rare to hear of people catching Covid twice.

That's not the case any more, especially since the Omicron variant emerged in late November 2021.

Why are more people catching Covid again?


Part of it is Omicron itself - a variant that's better at sneaking past defences built on old infections.

Part of it is a numbers game. So many of us have already been infected at some point, that a rising proportion of new infections are a second bout.

But getting Covid twice in a short space of time is still pretty unlikely, even with the latest version of Omicron which is widespread in the UK.

And for most people a second infection is less likely to make them very ill.

How likely are you to catch Covid twice?


Eventually, pretty likely - immunity fades and coronaviruses evolve.

Most people can expect to catch the other coronaviruses, such as those which cause common cold symptoms, many times in their life.


But early in the pandemic, that didn't seem to be the case with Covid.

Fewer than 1% of all cases recorded in the UK before November 2021 were labelled as reinfections.

But then Omicron took over. This looks very different to the versions of coronavirus that we saw before.

Its differences give it a better chance of sneaking past the body's early defences, which were based on exposure to previous Covid infections.

And so the rates of reinfection have been about 10 times higher this year compared with rates seen earlier in the pandemic.

How is the new version of Omicron different?


This new "Spring" Omicron - known as BA.2 - has driven UK infections back up to record levels.

The Office for National Statistics said that about one in 16 people across the UK had Covid in the week ending 19 March.


It is similar to - but even more infectious than - the version that came before, "Christmas" Omicron (BA.1).

If you've had Covid in the past few months, it's likely to have been a version of Omicron, which in turn should give you good protection against a second bout of it.

The data we have so far suggest that a second Omicron infection is "rare, but can occur". More reinfections have been seen among younger people and those who haven't been vaccinated.

Laboratory studies suggest that a combination of an Omicron infection and vaccination could leave your body even better prepared to fight off a new infection than one infection alone.

About 4.5 million people have had a Covid booster dose since the start of the year, with another two million getting their second dose.

And tens of millions of us have protection from a recent infection. About one in three of us caught Covid during the first Omicron wave.

But even if there's only a small chance of any one person catching Omicron a second time, you're quite likely to hear about it happening. It's a small chance multiplied by the tens of millions of people who have recently had Covid.

Will it make me sicker?


So far, it looks like a case of BA.2 is no more likely to put you in hospital than a case of BA.1 was.

And even if you do test positive again, that "is not the same as being sick with Covid-19," according to immunologist Prof Eleanor Riley. "It means there is virus in your nose and throat."

The protection provided by vaccination or having had a previous infection is more useful at preventing the virus from getting into your body and doing serious damage, than it is at keeping the virus out of your nose and throat.

Prof Riley thinks if you test positive again but feel well, "your main concern should be whether you might pass it on to someone who is particularly vulnerable".

An infection can still land some people in hospital, particularly those with weakened immune systems or underlying health conditions.


But despite the record numbers of Covid infections, the current wave is putting even fewer people in hospital than we saw in January - precisely because so many of us now have a combination of protection from vaccination and previous infections.

During January's peak, about 55% of people in Covid beds in English hospitals were being treated mainly for their Covid. The most recent figures, for 22 March, say that figure is down to about 45%.

And the total numbers of people in hospital with Covid are less than half of what we saw in January 2021.

The government hopes the spring booster vaccine rollout will help top up immunity for the most vulnerable, and make it even harder for Omicron to cause serious illness, whether it strikes once or twice.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×