A World First: Effect of Covid Reinfection on People Living With Long Covid - Long Covid Support and Long Covid Kids

[Mary Wilson]

Updated: 17h

How do Covid Reinfections affect Long Covid?

Results from an internet survey of people with Long Covid

Summary

Long Covid Support and Long Covid Kids surveyed people with Long Covid about their experience of being reinfected with Covid. Responses were received from 484 adults and 112 children and young people. Reinfection worsens the symptoms of Long Covid in the majority those who are still symptomatic. Reinfection causes a recurrence of Long Covid in 60% of those who were in recovery or remission. 89% of respondents first got Long Covid after their first infection, 10% after their second infection and 1% after their third. Most adult respondents had been vaccinated before their second infection.
Aug 2022

SUMMARY
Long Covid Support and Long Covid Kids surveyed people with Long Covid about their experience of being reinfected with Covid.

Responses were received from 484 adults and 112 children and young people (CYP) who had had at least two Covid infections.

Reinfection worsens the symptoms of Long Covid in the majority those who are still symptomatic. Of those who still had Long Covid at the time of reinfection

• - 80% had a worsening of symptom severity
• - 10% had an improvement in symptom severity
• - 85% had either a return of old symptoms or new additional symptoms
• - 10% had a resolution or improvement in symptoms
  
  Of those who were in recovery or remission, reinfection causes a recurrence of Long Covid in 60%. Of these 40% said that the second bout of Long Covid was about the same severity as the first time, 32% said it was less severe and 28% more severe.
  
  89% of respondents first got Long Covid after their first infection, 10% after their second infection and 1% after their third. Of those who had had more than two infections, 78% reported that they first had Long Covid after their first infection.
  
  RECOMMENDATIONS
  
  People with Long Covid should be considered as vulnerable to Covid and should be offered antiviral treatment on reinfection.

1. People with Long Covid should avoid reinfection.
   
   INTRODUCTION
   
   Anecdotally, people with Long Covid have been reinfected and have reported the effects of this. This survey was an attempt to aggregate these experiences to provide some insight into the effect of reinfection with Covid on Long Covid symptoms.
   
   At the time of writing, there is no other published data to show the effects of reinfection on people with a history of Long Covid.
   
   METHODS AND MATERIALS
   
   The online survey service Survey Monkey was used to gather data. The link was promoted via several social media platforms by Long Covid Support and Long Covid Kids. Respondents were not asked to supply any personal or identifiable information so all data are fully anonymous.
   
   The survey was open for 11 consecutive weeks, from Monday 4 April 2022 to 19 June 2022 and all responses were collected in that period.
   
   Questions were predominantly offered as multiple choice although some questions had an option to add a comment if the answer they wanted to give was not an option.
   
   The survey was open to adults and CYP who met the following criteria:

• ● Have had at least 2 infections with Covid-19
• ● Have had Long Covid following at least one of these infections
• ● The first infection was in January 2020 or later

Option to: Download The Full Report

https://www.longcovidkids.org/post/...-reinfection-on-people-living-with-long-covid