Do people get covid twice?

[jsp5642]

Hi,

I wondered if anyone is following the data on whether people can catch covid twice, or if they can catch Delta covid, having had first wave covid back in March last year?

I just wondered because I caught covid last March and am still really struggling with long covid symptoms. I then had my vaccine 7 weeks ago and have been really unwell with side effects every since then. I'm now terribly thin and tired and just desperate for a bit of time off to recuperate.

I know they want us all to rush forward to get the second vaccine but I'm trying to calculate the risk/benefit balance in my own situation. I'm trying to figure out if I could justify waiting a bit for the second vaccine until I can gain a bit of weight again, and feel a bit more human.

The flip side is that it might make sense to have the vaccine asap and destroy myself sooner, so as to have a chance to be recovered because DS is off on holiday. At the moment, the thought of trying to summon up the energy to get him some fun, seems like climbing Everest though, even without vaccine 2.

Thanks!

Yes I've had it twice, March 3020 and Dec 2020. Pretty I'll the first time and went on to develop long COVID, much milder the second time, slowed long covid recovery a bit but really not much. And I've been vaccinated twice since then which, if anything, helped w the remaining long COVID symptoms. I do get the occasional relapse but v mild these days.

Oh and your choice of course but I had no reaction to the second vaccine and even my reaction to the first was less acute than the second bout of COVID, mild though it was.

Crikey, I'm sorry to hear that. Well that's a pretty clear indication if I already have one person who's experienced it, within minutes of posting the question. Oh well. I better eat fast. I hope you are on the mend now.

Thank you. I'm not sure I'll ever entirely be back to my pre COVID self tbh but I am nearly there. Amazingly so when I think back to how I was last summer.

My ds1 also had it twice (mild both times) but obviously he is related to me so that doesnt take you very far in determining how likely it is to get it again. Maybe we both share the same immune system quirk.

My feeling is that a second infection isnt super rare but is still fairly uncommon.

Thanks, that's really helpful to know. I think it's really sensible of you to think of the side effects in relation to the symptoms of actual infection. I've been thinking of it compared to other vaccines I've had, but I suppose comparing it to actual infection does make more sense.

I just wish I could get to feel well after the first vaccine before I have the second. & weeks and counting is a long and difficult struggle.

I did notice that a lot of people said the second vaccine wasn't so bad though, which is encouraging.

Friends of mine have had it twice - the whole family got it. I think you have a level of immunity but it only persists for about 3 months.
DD had it in December and didn't do tests for school for 90 days. She started doing tests after that and is clear of antibodies.
I've had 2 doses of the AZ - unwell for 24 hours after the first dose but virtually no effects to the second..
Hope you feel better soon.

Thank you that is really good to know. Well this is pretty clear evidence that I need to pull my socks up and get on with it. Very useful to know.

I'll go and get the sock adjusters....

Oh gosh, I'm so sorry you feel wiped out. I've got long Covid and I'm very grateful I don't have young dch to look after. Re getting it twice, my dentist told me she's got several patients who've had it twice. As for me, I did feel a bit (more) grotty after the first vaccine but I've had no reaction after the second. I think I've got a bit better since the first one. I hope you can get plenty of good food and rest, to speed your recovery.

Interestingly the French authorities regard you as fully vaccinated if you've had Covid plus one vaccine dose. No idea whether the science behind that police is sound.

annacondom that's really good to know that you got no reaction after the second one. I will hope for that too.

LilyPond2 that's really encouraging. After covid and 2 vaccines I should be immune to everything! Yippee!

My brother had Covid twice and is now fully vaccinated. He has long Covid but is working- but as I have not seen him I don’t really know how he is - he tends to just say he is fine- like most men!
I’m sorry you are unwell and so short of energy - I hope you feel better soon.

That's amazing that so many people had it twice. I had no idea. This is really encouraging me to get vaccinated.

@Beamur

Friends of mine have had it twice - the whole family got it. I think you have a level of immunity but it only persists for about 3 months. DD had it in December and didn't do tests for school for 90 days. She started doing tests after that and is clear of antibodies. I've had 2 doses of the AZ - unwell for 24 hours after the first dose but virtually no effects to the second.. Hope you feel better soon.

Studies show that immunity after infection lasts for over 8 months in most people but it can wane faster in some - particularly older people. (Around 4 months iirc)

Have you seen the research OP that the vaccine is meant to help some people with long covid? www.yalemedicine.org/news/vaccines-long-covid

We don't have long-term data about immunity simply because covid is new!
I am hopeful that there will be long-term immunity

Hi Dreamer2468, thanks yes I'd seen that. I don't know if it has helped me really because I've just been properly wiped out by the side effects for 7 weeks now. Hopefully the vaccine side effects will go away at some point and then I'll find out what the new normal is like. :-)

Family had it March 2020, I was bad but didn't go into hospital. I had long covid but started feeling better this February. Had first AZ vaccination, developed petichae and then 6 weeks of fybro so Gp said on balance not to get 2nd dose. Whole family just had Delta but very mildly. Still waiting to find out whether the long covid returns.

CasparBloomberg, that's really interesting to know that you skipped the second dose. I'm having a rubbish time, but half of the things that are happening to me, I don't even have names for, so explaining it to the GP is extremely difficult. I wish I knew what to do. I'm hoping that since everyone else finds the second dose easier, I might too.

Very interesting to hear that you're family have had the Delta variant already. I'm so glad to hear that they had it mildly.

My gp couldn't advise me to not but he said if it were him ... based on the fact I'd had it before, had 12 months of long covid and reacted badly to the vaccine, he concluded that my 1st dose was equivalent to booster and he expected I would react badly second time too. I was mainly concerned at the petichae being symptoms of the blood clot issue but by the time it got responded to it was too late to test me effectively.
Like you, my symptoms were also hard to describe (told him one was it felt like I was being microwaved, so not medical language) so I just sent list of new symptoms after vaccination as I've been keeping diary since last year.
The Delta variant was milder than any of my experiences in the last year. Hopefully it implies i have some immunity or at least my immune system is now working more for me than against me.

Have you been referred or had tests done? It sounds crippling what you're going through and needs checking what is going on.

Hi CasparBloomberg,

That's really interesting. I also felt exactly as though I was being microwaved during the first week of the covid infection. It felt as though every single cell in all my muscles was heating up individually in a microwave, and vibrating furiously to try to get rid of tiny invaders. I couldn't sit up for that whole week so spent the whole week very still, but somehow managed to lose 19lbs in weight over the course of the week.

One of the things that frustrates me is that I can't get back to my pre-covid weight, and now frequently dip down below the healthy weight range for my height. I'm not sure where the weight went from though, as I still have conspicuous body fat. I did have my hair cut during lockdown, but not that much (LOL!).

I asked my GP about the long covid clinic and he said that the only advice they give is pacing and psychological therapy. He felt there wasn't much point me going through the process as I already had CFS before covid and am already up to my eyeballs in pacing and psychological therapy. We both figured it would be more work for me, with little change of any gain. He's done oodles of blood tests and they are all normal. (except my thyroxin is low, but I have all the symptoms of too much thyroxin, so I don't think more would be a good idea.)

I can understand your shying away from the second vaccine after having had possible blood clots. That seems very sensible. I didn't have anything like that and just mainly struggled with nausea and loss of appetite. It's just going on very much longer than normal, but must surely come right eventually.

I need to get out and do things with my son this summer, so I think, on balance, I will feel safer with another vaccination under my belt.

Thanks a million for telling me about your experience. It is really helpful.

Hi all! I live in an eu country and we are told not to get tested 6 months after getting covid. I have a cold now and feel pretty much like I did when I got covid 2 months ago.

I am scared that I have got covid a second time or could it be that my cold feels worse as a kind of covid after-effect? I haven't had long covid and wonder if that could be a long covid symptom?

Also would a test now just show up covid being shred from before - a false positive?

Hi Peacelillyhippy,

If you were in the UK you would be required to have a test under your current circumstances and to self-isolate until the results came back. We're literally not allowed out of the house until our test result comes back, except if we are driving to a test centre. Is there any way you can request a test?

Sorry to hear you are not well. That's never fun. Take care there.

This pre-print paper might interest you OP

www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.04.22.21255911v1.full-text

From the discussion:

"In those who were previously infected, all age groups achieved high antibody response after first vaccination, in keeping with immune priming by natural infection followed by a vaccine boost."

I also have long Covid and have delayed my second AZ jab because I was too unwell at the time it was due to manage side effects on top of my long Covid symptoms. I have now rebooked. The first jab made no difference to my symptoms at all.

You can get it again, DH was hospitalised with Covid and several of the staff on the ward had been reinfected, but it was milder the second/third/fourth time. DH has only had one AZ jab and won't be getting another on advice of his GP due to an allergic reaction.

Hi jsp

What a mess. I went to the testing centre did a self test, but when they found out I'd had it previously was told to throw it out!

I hope you feel better as well.