Are the symptoms of a reinfection of COVID-19 the same as those of your original infection with the coronavirus?
The symptoms of a COVID infection, particularly of being infected with the newest variant, the BA.2 omicron subvariant, differ from patient to patient. In fact, if you become reinfected with BA.2 after having had a previous version of COVID, doctors say you could expect some different symptoms from your original bout of COVID.
There is clinical data and a large amount of anecdotal evidence to suggest that the omicron variant can reinfect people, especially through the BA.2 subvariant.
Yes, you can get omicron twice,” Stanley Weiss, an epidemiologist at Rutgers School of Public Health, told Yahoo News.
He added, “If you had a mild infection, didn’t get a very good immune response, and you get exposed again with a big dose of the virus, it’s definitely possible.”
CNN is reporting that symptoms of reinfection with BA.2 may be the same or could be different than those you experienced during your original infection.
Symptoms for those reinfected with BA.2 were across the board, according to CNN.
- Most reinfections were mild.
- Some people had no COVID-19 symptoms or mild COVID-19 symptoms.
- About five people suffered “symptoms that were characterized as moderate, akin to flu-like symptoms,” according to CNN.
- No hospitalizations or deaths were reported.
Two specific new symptoms that were not related to previous infections include:
- Dizziness.
- Fatigue.
The evidence that people who have had previous infections can get reinfected with COVID variants is all the more reason that everyone, even those who have had COVID, gets fully vaccinated, including the third booster shot. While COVID cases are dwindling nationwide, there is always the possibility of new – and even more virulent – variants on the horizon.
