Repeated COVID infection: normal or indicative of some immune problem

[Chocchops72]

I’ve already had Covid three times, and just got a very faint positive tonight. I feel awful.

September 2020
June 2022
September 2022
December 2022

Is anything being said about repeat infections? Is it normal? I work in a school but not directly with children. I guess I tend to lean towards people when they talk as I’m deaf which might make me more susceptible? I guess it’s Omicron doing the rounds, and it is more infectious.

or should I be asking the dr why I’m getting this so often?

Normal.

People who regularly mix with lots of people, through work or socially, are more at risk of catching covid and figures -despite many people not even testing-are currently rising, so risk of catching it are increasing again. If you are getting close to people then that will definitely increase your chances of catching it too.

There is, unfortunately, a growing body of evidence that covid damps down the immune system and that this cab last for months (maybe more - evidence trail only goes that far so far)

So yes, if you're getting it twice a year, and you are (as seems likely) one of the people whose immune system is affected, then it does all make sense.

Going forward, it might make sense to avoid catching infectious diseases for a year or so. Think about who you meet indoors, wear a mask in indoors public spaces, ;look at whether and how you can improve ventilation. Also keep up hand-washing. Because it's not just covid that's going round - there's flu, RSV, strep A and noro.

Sorry if that all sounds rather doom laden! It wasn't meant to be. But there's a lot going round at the moment, and breaking the chains of contact that ease the way for infectious diseases will help you

Yes, it has.

But given that posters have explained this to you to approximately a gazillion times before, with links and sources, I'm guessing you're firmly stuck in a particular mindset.

Vaccination does not worsen COVID outcomes, or make you more likely to be reinfected. Stop trying to scare people.

Repeat infections are common given how prevalent it is, and although there's a lot we don't know about COVID, in general it seems to be that they get milder.

Of course that isn't much consolation if you're feeling rubbish

It could be worth speaking to your GP - do you tend to catch other bugs going round quite easily?

Sorry to hear you're feeling rubbish and hope you feel better soon. I'm now on my 3rd or 4th cold of this winter. Might be COViD but as I don't test, I don't know. Repeated lockdowns having destroyed my immunity, i think it's it's pretty normal unfortunately.

@leafyygreens

What is your issue with an article from Nature? Is this no longer an approved source?

Hard to keep up to date with what is approved these days?

And FYI it is titled a ‘Reevaluation of antibody-dependent enhancement of infection in anti-SARS-CoV-2 therapeutic antibodies and mRNA-vaccine antisera using FcR- and ACE2-positive cells’ which in layman’s terms means ‘another look’. As I stated, nothing is settled on this matter

I work with children & also parents with small children and have had it 5 times since spring 2020 (couldn’t test then but was hospitalised so fairly confident - later all testing positive). I’ve had all the vaccinations I can have. It’s an occupational hazard I think.

@mnhq deleting articles from Nature

Hard to keep up to date with what is approved these days?

As always - it's the repeated posts claiming things that aren't true that are the problem.

The paper you linked clearly isn't the issue, it's the incorrect biased conclusions you draw that are.

As I stated, nothing is settled on this matter

In your mind. Which is fine - don't get vaccinated.

Billions of vaccine doses have been given. It is abundantly clear that vaccinated people are not more likely to get COVID, or have worse outcomes from COVID. I find it baffling you still spend so much time trying to push misinformation.

And it wasn't published in Nature....

More evidence you haven't bothered to read or critically assess the article and put it context with the body of literature in this area - you've just simply found a title you think fits your narrative and decided to post it with a scary claim.

FYI, it was published in scientific reports

The argument from the start of this which people have taken such offense to has simply been around informed consent. We have the right to know what possible side effects there are from any medication we take, even more so when there is coercion involved. Yet here we are, after all this time, people still unable to even look at a scientific paper that may not say what they want it to say.

It is not beyond the wit of man that these vaccines could have caused ADE. It was a legitimate fear at the beginning of their launch, it has happened before with other vaccines and it requires long-term data to assess it - which we didn't have.

If you read the article (oh wait, you can't) you will see that this re-evaluation is showing that there is some ADE happening in vitro, and if that were to translate to in vivo, then it is a bit of an issue and people deserve to know, don't you think?

All I have stated on this thread is that this matter is unresolved. And it is, that is true. I haven't said 'everyone is going to get ADE' but I would expect this sort of information to not be suppressed.

@hamstersarse

All I have stated on this thread is that this matter is unresolved. And it is, that is true. I haven't said 'everyone is going to get ADE' but I would expect this sort of information to not be suppressed.

Forgive me - it was my understanding that ADE isn't something that you "get". It isn't a condition or disease. ADE is an acronym for a mechanism - (Anitbody-dependent Enhancement). Yes?

Evidence that covid can impact on the immune system for a period of time - even after mild cases (that definitely happened to my adult son - he had repeated problems for about a year after infection, seems back to normal now though). Your last three look to me like that may be the case? Rather than a problem with your immune system you might have a covid battered immune system which, if you can avoid infection for a while, may get better? My son had to really pace himself for a year, so be careful about sleep, working hours (stopped doing night shifts as that seemed to make things worse). Of course easier for him to adjust as a young man with no responsibilities other than to himself. He is 100% back to normal now though (touch wood).

Covid can also reactivate old glandular fever which of course can impact on the immune system as well. So if you have any symptoms of that may be worth asking for a blood test. TBh May be worth asking for a blood test anyway.

@hamstersarse

All I have stated on this thread is that this matter is unresolved. And it is, that is true. I haven't said 'everyone is going to get ADE' but I would expect this sort of information to not be suppressed.

Or are you confusing the other acronym with ADE (Adverse Drug Event)? This would explain you conflating it with side-effects and the rest of the language you've used.

@MeetPi

Yup ADE is antibody-dependent enhancement and @hamstersarse has been banging on about since 2020 (as soon as anti-vaccine disinformation groups started rolling out the misinfo on it)

ADE is a genuine concern with both repeated infections of a disease, and vaccination. The most well-known example of infection with Dengue Fever. It causes an indvidual to have worse outcomes after a previous infection or innoculation against the pathogen.

For vaccination, it is tested for in cell studies, animal models, and by participant monitoring in clinical studies. When a vaccine is approved, post-surveillance monitoring is used to detect safety signals.

There have been two examples of vaccination-induced ADE I can think of - in the 1960s/70s- with a vaccine for RSV and an early version of the measles virus. In both cases, surveillance picked this up very quickly, and the vaccines were recalled.

At this point, it would be bloody obvious if any of the SARS-COV-2 vaccines caused ADE, just as it was for the those previous vaccines. There was no evidence of it in cell studies, animal studies, or clinical trials.

I think it's around 4 billlions doses that have been given now - people do not get sicker with coronavirus once they have been innocculated against it. We have robust, replicated date demonstrating this.

@hamstersarse seems blind to all the evidence in front of them, and instead cherry picks an article with a title that they think backs up their agenda, but in reality doesn't actually provide evidence for the claims they're making.

Personally, I think it's crappy behaviour to come onto a thread where someone is worried about their health, and decide to attempt to link it to the coronavirus vaccine with nonsense claims.

If I was a co-author on that paper I would be pretty fed up it's being used to fuel an anti-vaccine agenda (presumably it's all over telegram with various sentences taken out of context)

We are at a point where only a minority of people are being offered a winter booster for this vaccine. Attempting to terrify people who have already been vaccinated, or would benefit from a booster is shite. Particularly when this is a forum popular with pregnant women, and they are in a risk group where vaccinated is recommended.

As always - don't get vaccinated if you don't want to, stop trying to coerce others out of making an informed decision @hamstersarse

Thank you for the clarification, @leafyygreens.

Personally, I think it is crappy behaviour to refuse to give people full knowledge about medications they are taking. That is clearly where we differ.

All that happens when I post is that you come on and make all the usual accusations of misinformation and anti-vax nonsense (personal attacks), get me deleted yet you never refute the claims themselves.

What do you think that paper actually said that was incorrect or misinformation? What is your evidence that there is no ADE from the vaccines? When was it confirmed that the risk of ADE was not warranted?

stop trying to coerce others out of making an informed decision I am unsure how you can claim that people are actually informed when your approach is to have things deleted and actively not inform people, but there we go

OP can you get your vitamin d level tested? Quite a few companies offer it privately via finger prick. It’s a really basic thing to check.

harder to sort out if low

also ask the GP for basic bloods for anaemia.

are you otherwise well?

im not going to comment on the suggestions of ADE after vaccinations as that’s a fairly complex issue but it does trouble me.

Personally, I think it is crappy behaviour to refuse to give people full knowledge about medications they are taking. That is clearly where we differ.

@hamstersarse

This comment makes no sense. There is no evidence that ADE occurs in vivo & overwhelming evidence that is does not.

I don't understand what "knowledge" you think isn't being given to people, or why you insist on referring to a vaccine as a medication to try and make it sound even scarier.

When someone goes to get vaccinated, they are given accurate, up to date info on risks and limitations - including known side effects (carditis, blood clots), and how long effectiveness has been shown to last from most recent data.

I just understand why you persist in scaremongering.

To be fair leafy the article in Nature did point to some nebulous signs of ADE and clearly the issue is far from settled and we need far more research. But I don’t think hamsterarse is deliberately trying to scaremonger. The studies are there for all to see. We need time.

This was supposed to be...

I just don't understand why you persist in scaremongering.

But given you have been posting disinformation about COVID and the vaccines for the last 2 years, with what must be hundreds of posts deleted by now, perhaps my first statement was more accurate @hamstersarse

Yes it was always be my preference for incorrect or non evidence-based posts to stay up and the misinfo explained instead of deleted. But there is no organised system on MN for this to happen, people repeat the same old claims thousands of times, so deletion is the only way it can be dealt with unfortunately.

I would hard disagree based on that posters history of fake claims - including those specfically trying to scare pregnant women out of being vaccinated.

Perhaps but we discussing ADE specifically now and that should be kept on point.

i agree no one wants to be unnecessarily scared and we all need to be measured