A new report from the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the survivors of COVID-19 can be reinfected with the virus again. This happens especially among those who had asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic conditions after they got infected with the coronavirus, as they probably did not develop sufficient immunity to fight off it.
Kentucky Nursing Facility Reports 5 COVID-19 Reinfection Cases
The report pointed out that months after their recovery, many of the residents in the Kentucky nursing facility got reinfected with the coronavirus.Â
There are 5 reinfected residents in the clinic aged between 67-99, and they have initially contracted the virus between last July and October.Â
This report from the Kentucky nursing home suggested the possibility of reinfection, adding to the current menace of the country as well as the whole world.
The clinic officials said that the five residents were having either an asymptomatic condition with the infection or were hit by milder attacks of the virus. However, the present condition is worse than the initial one as the symptoms that came along with the second infection are remarkably severe to lead them to hospital beds. Eventually, after they were shifted to the hospital, one of the five reinfected residents died.
The CDC said that this is noteworthy that there is a chance of reinfection among people who recovered from milder or asymptomatic Covid, and these insignificant conditions may not produce enough robust immune response to prevent another infection later.
CDC also said that it also suggests that the pandemic could be more severe if it gets infected with a person for the second time.
However, the report further suggested that the risk of reinfection among the general public is assumed to be very low, but the residents of nursing homes are at a higher risk of new exposures.
Observations on the report indicated that it is not practical to assume that those who are infected greater than 90 days earlier are immune to COVID-19.
Reports said that the incident is relatively rare as there is not much possibility of it as someone develops some level of immunity after he underwent a previous infection with the virus.
As there are 5 among the 12 residents who get reinfected, it suggested that reinfection is not rare when exposure risk is high.
During the initial outbreak of the pandemic, the Kentucky nursing facility reported 20 cases among its residents. Whereas in the second outbreak, there have been 85 cases.
Four among the 5 reinfected residents are women. Before their reports came suggesting that they turned positive, the roommates of three of them were already tested positive. The clinic officials attributed the other two cases to the presence of a larger number of infected residents in the clinic.
The clinic officials said that even though each of the reinfected residents was undergoing different health issues, none of them were critical to damage the natural immune system. They were also not taking any special medicines to boost their immunity. These experts noted that this might have paved the way for another attack from the coronavirus.