Chances of catching Covid twice and the protection prior infection can give

20.01.2022 - 23:47 / dailyrecord.co.uk

The number of Covid infections remains high in Scotland - despite a drop in cases over the past couple of weeks.

On January 3, Scotland recorded its highest ever numbers of daily Covid infections, with more than 20,000 positive cases identified over a 24 hour period.

Numbers have declined somewhat since then, with today’s daily figure coming in at 8,262.

More restrictions will be lifted next week amid ‘encouragement’ from the Scottish Government on the recent Covid data.

The coronavirus pandemic is just two months away from entering into its third year - which means that the number of people becoming reinfected with the virus is growing.

Here is what we know about Covid reinfection so far.

As the Covid-19 virus is still relatively new to scientists and global health leaders, the definitive answer on reinfection remains a mystery.

But there have been some studies that could point us in the right direction towards this.

In January 2021, Public Health England (PHE) found that immunity following a Covid infection could last for at least five months after becoming ill.

The ZOE Covid Study App conducted similar research a few months later, which found that antibodies existed around nine months after infection.

In a study of 8.193 contributors to the app, four out of five people infected with the virus built up protective antibodies to fight off the virus. People who suffered symptoms were more likely to have gained antibodies.

Those with health issues associated with an underlying health conditions and people who smoke were less likely to develop antibodies.

The study concluded that protection given from prior infection is less effective overall than the vaccination.

Experts at PHE warned that those with immunity may still be able to