Coronavirus How long is a person with coronary heart disease safe from a new infection? Sami Keinänen’s children have already contracted the disease twice this year

Hämeenlinna resident Sami Keinänen the family was hit by the coronavirus in late March. The story is familiar to many Finnish families right now, but this time was not the first time for Keinänen’s family.

In the first round in January, the entire family of five got the coronavirus. Now, about two months later, a home test shows 14- and 11-year-old daughters again with coronavirus. The symptoms started again, albeit milder than before.

The family experienced disbelief and frustration, the latter of which, according to Keinänen, had become accustomed to during the Korona period. The parents already had two vaccinations in January and the eldest daughter one.

“I expected this to be taken care of by us, at least for a while,” says Keinänen.

The parents and the family’s eight-year-old son have been spared the second round, at least for now.

Coronavirus Obtaining twice is possible, confirm the chief physician Otto Helve From the Department of Health and Welfare (THL).

He points out that many other pathogens, such as rhinoviruses, can cause the flu several times in a person’s life.

“It’s nothing unheard of,” Helve says.

According to Helve, however, what matters is how much protection the first infection provides against a serious disease a second time. Data from the world says that protection from a serious disease is good.

“Repeat infections along the way are sure to come no matter how many. They are less likely to be serious diseases, especially in vaccinated ones. I am much less worried about recurrence infections than for the first illnesses of unvaccinated people. ”

TheIt is not known exactly how many Finns have had a recurrent infection. In recent months, a large proportion of corona cases have only been detected by a home test, so they do not end up in the registers.

The statistics are therefore incomplete. However, they say that almost 6,000 Finns have contracted a new coronary infection with a PCR test at least three months after the previous one.

“If you think about how many infections have been registered in total, yes, this time is a marginal number. Of course, the actual amount is clearly higher, ”says Helve.

A total of more than 890,000 cases of the disease have been diagnosed in Finland throughout the epidemic.

How can a vaccine with a long-term coronavirus think they are safe from the second round?

“Some months. It depends on the age, how hard the infection pressure is around and what variants are moving, ”says the professor of zoonotic virology Olli Vapalahti.

The delta transformation and its predecessors were so similar that protection against the new infection was quite good. The omikron now unleashed is different.

“It’s actually the superpower of this omicron that makes it spread. Previous infections and vaccinations do not weigh much on getting an infection. On the other hand, due to previous immunity, the disease is usually mild, ”says Vapalahti.

In January, delta transformation was still moving in many areas in Finland, Vapalahti points out.

“If you have received a Delta in January, you may well get an omicron infection fairly quickly after that.”

Read more: It is estimated that one in three people in the Hus area is already infected – Is there any benefit from a previous coronary infection as the virus continues to transform?

About the omicron transformation has moved two sub-options in recent months.

According to Vapalahti, they are so similar that the illness of the so-called omicro number one also seems to provide protection against infection with the BA2 variant of omicro.

“There have been some descriptions of these that get first and then second, but I understand they are exceptional. Over time, there may be more of them. ”

Vapalahti estimates that although the viruses have already circulated in Finland, more than half of the population is exposed to the omicron BA2 variant.

“With that, an epidemic is expected to accelerate.”

Where from can know if the new disease is again a corona? According to experts, a pcr test can easily show a positive corona result even after a month of infection, in some cases even longer.

Antigen tests, ie home tests, instead fade negative earlier, according to Vapalahti, typically no later than the second week after the illness.

On the other hand, a mild person may not even need to know if their own disease is caused by a coronavirus. According to Otto Helve, we are moving towards this.

“In the future, for example, in the autumn, how much more critical mild infection can be identified?” Helve asks.

According to the current instructions, a home test can be taken if desired. THL recommends symptomatic avoidance of contact for at least five days regardless of test result.

Sami Keinänen believes that it is precisely new infections in their family. After the first round, the whole family has received negative results from the home test.

“I don’t think it’s that old,” Keinänen says.

In January, the whole family isolated themselves in their detached house. Since then, national guidelines on isolation and quarantine have eased.

“Now it’s not such a radical line.”

Family has been more moderate about the coronavirus than in January. Even then, many acquaintances had not been infected and had lived with caution throughout the pandemic.

Now the disease has been diagnosed once and it is circulating a lot all over Finland.

“It won’t come that way as a shock.”