Thread by @DrEricDing

📍REINFECTIONS—Many variants have evolved to partially dodge immunity. Waves of reinfections—2-3 times/year may be the future of #COVID19 scientists now fear (& warned since 2020). I’m old enough to remember when others claimed reinfections impossible/rare.nytimes.com/2022/05/16/hea…

2) The central problem is that the coronavirus has become more adept at reinfecting people. Already, those infected with the first Omicron variant are reporting second infections with the newer versions of the variant — BA.2 or BA2.12.1 in the United States, or BA.4 and BA.5.

3) Those people may go on to have third or fourth infections, even within this year, researchers said in interviews. And some small fraction may have symptoms that persist for months or years, a condition known as long Covid.

4) “It seems likely to me that that’s going to sort of be a long-term pattern,” said Juliet Pulliam, an epidemiologist in South Africa.“The virus is going to keep evolving. And there are probably going to be a lot of people getting many, many reinfections throughout their lives.”

5) here was one of my reinfection warnings in Jan 2022, after many got Omicron and were told by so called experts that they are now immune.

https://twitter.com/drericding/status/1487833014965055495

6) I also long warned about reinfection risk if you rely on so called “natural immunity” infections alone. People just didn’t understand waning and that your “dose” with infection is inconsistent (unreliable), and future variants are very different than older strains!!

https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1454152775777103874

6) “If we manage it the way that we manage it now, then most people will get infected with it at least a couple of times a year,” - @K_G_Andersen

7) Wow, reinfections of #COVID have surged a full 20% (5% to 6%) in just one week in Italy! If this trend holds up worldwide, this is really worrisome.

https://twitter.com/Antonio_Caramia/status/1525181606910218240