New studies suggest that the COVID-19 variant Stealth BA.2 can reinfect people who had BA.1 variant. Scientists have been closely observing the BA.2 variant for the past several weeks after it became responsible for increasing cases in Denmark, U.K. South Africa and some places in the U.S. Data shows that the Stealth variant is even more transmissible than the highly contagious BA.1 Omicron variant.
Facts About The Stealth Variant Reinfection
The BA.1 Omicron variant is responsible for most Omicron cases worldwide. As of now, one vital unknown characteristic of the BA.2 variant is whether it is different enough from BA.1. Does it cause illness in people who already had the latter? This now raises the possibility that people can catch Omicron twice. Luckily, research from the U.K. found no evidence of any such cases. However, Denmark’s government-affiliated research lab, Statens Serum Institut (SSI), suggests it’s possible and has happened multiple times.
The researchers studied over 1.8 million Danish COVID-19 cases from November 2021 to February 2022 and selected individuals who tested positive twice during that time. Two positive samples returned more than 20 and less than 60 days apart. Thus, resulting in a total of 1,739 possible reinfected cases. In addition, upon further analysis of genetic sequencing, researchers found 47 instances of people who contracted the Stealth variant shortly after they had caught BA.1.
Sadly, the cases were “mostly in young unvaccinated individuals with mild disease not resulting in hospitalization or death,” the authors noted. The median age was 15 years. Out of the 47, 42 were unvaccinated. Luckily, none of the individuals who caught the BA.2 variant after BA.1 wasn’t hospitalized or died. Most only reported mild symptoms. Furthermore, the reinfection rate is low. Since most people reinfected were not vaccinated, the study emphasizes “the enhanced immunity obtained by the combination of vaccination and infection compared to infection-induced immunity only.” It is still recommended to get the COVID-19 vaccine and booster.
