How long after having Covid are we likely to be immune?

[LotusCheesecake]

Hi,
First of all apologies if this has come up before!
We all had Covid (I am guessing Delta) at the start of November. I initially thought that this would give us a good deal of immunity for a while, however since then Omicron has obviously emerged and now I'm not so sure!
Obviously you're told not to get another pcr for 90 days, so how does that all work? The main reason for asking this is that DD2 has a really heavy cold, has been sick etc (so classic omicron symptoms really), but clearly a pcr could show up from last time... Any advice v welcome!

Following.

I think they are still debating this, I have seen reports months/ years. However, I have also seen reports of absolutely no immunity.

I don’t think our Government are really interested in natural immunity for some reason as they barely ever mention it.

I think the main reason you are told not to test is because you can still produce a positive test however not be actively infectious.

I'm wondering too, had Covid in August.

Well yes that's exactly it, apparently some people can test positive for up to 90 days after they've had it. So they'd tell me not to test him, but surely if it's a different strain then he may not be immune?? In which case he will go back to school later this week and could be merrily infecting people just before Christmas.
But like I say - I don't know!

@LotusCheesecake

Well yes that's exactly it, apparently some people can test positive for up to 90 days after they've had it. So they'd tell me not to test him, but surely if it's a different strain then he may not be immune?? In which case he will go back to school later this week and could be merrily infecting people just before Christmas. But like I say - I don't know!

I know that there have been some reports of cross protection from different stains. I have not looked into this properly, however this is very common in coronaviruses apparently.

It’s something to do with T cells.

Hopefully someone more knowledgeable than me will come along and explain it.

DS had Covid at the end of October but has come down with a cough and high temp (didn’t have these when he did actually have Covid) so I sent him for another PCR yesterday and waiting for the result. The LFT was a clear negative so I’m thinking (hoping!) it’s just a different virus.

You may test positive if you test again within 90 days, it’s not guaranteed. I think you are meant to test again within the 90 days if new symptoms present. If it’s positive then it should be treated as a separate infection - it’s erring on the side of caution.

You’re right that early indications are that previous infection immunity isn’t very effective against Omicron.

A bit earlier than you but my friend and her DC have just tested positive after having COVID in September. They had positive PCRs (and symptoms) both times, with negative ones in between. Friend is also double jabbed and boosted, it’s a worry!

I'm wondering about this too. We have covid at the moment and I was consoling myself with the fact that we would be immune for a while at least. Now I'm not so sure.

Earlier SAGE papers said they expected at least 3 months, probably considerably longer. But it was a while back and of course considering only the variants that were around then.

Whether 'wild' immunity from earlier strains is useful against omicron is still being looked in to.

OP, official advice on gov website is that you must get a PCR within 90 days of previous Covid infection if you get new Covid-type symptoms. You shouldn't do routine/close contact tests within 90 days though. It's rare for someone to continue testing positive for long after an infection.

I would start by doing an LFT on your DD then PCR if positive, unless she develops one of the 3 main symptoms, then straight to PCR. Also isolate her until well.