Quote:
Originally Posted by red-beard
What is the definition of re-infection? A Positive COVID test? Or actual Symptoms?
In the US, most of the people with a "re-infection" simply have a positive COVID test. This means they were exposed and the body fought it off with the developed anti-bodies.
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The main E484K variant, so-called P1/BrazilGamma, is not that common in the US - yet?
Where it is , such as in Brazil, reinfection has manifested in severe illness. See Lancet article Jan 2021 - more may have been learned subsequent.
https://www.thelancet.com/article/S0140-6736(21)00183-5/fulltext
"By contrast, in
Manaus, Brazil, a study of blood donors indicated that 76% (95% CI 67–98) of the population had been infected with SARS-CoV-2 by October, 2020.2 High attack rates of SARS-CoV-2 were also estimated in population-based samples from other locations in the Amazon Basin—eg, Iquitos, Peru 70% (67–73).3 The estimated SARS-CoV-2 attack rate in Manaus would be above the theoretical herd immunity threshold (67%), given a basic case reproduction number (R0) of 3.4
In this context, the
abrupt increase in the number of COVID-19 hospital admissions in Manaus during January, 2021 (3431 in Jan 1–19, 2021, vs 552 in Dec 1–19, 2020) is unexpected and of concern (figure).5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 After a large epidemic that peaked in late April, 2020, COVID-19 hospitalisations in Manaus remained stable and fairly low for 7 months from May to November, despite the relaxation of COVID-19 control measures during that period (figure).
There are at least four non-mutually exclusive
possible explanations for the resurgence of COVID-19 in Manaus.
. . .
Third,
SARS-CoV-2 lineages might evade immunity generated in response to previous infection.15 Three recently detected SARS-CoV-2 lineages (B.1.1.7, B.1.351, and P.1), are unusually divergent and each possesses a unique constellation of mutations of potential biological importance.16, 17, 18 Of these, two are circulating in Brazil (B.1.1.7 and P.1) and
one (P.1) was detected in Manaus on Jan 12, 2021.16 One case of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection has been associated with the P.1 lineage in Manaus19 that accrued ten unique spike protein mutations, including
E484K and N501K.16 Moreover, the newly classified P.2 lineage (sublineage of B.1.128 that independently accrued the spike E484K mutation) has now been detected in several locations in Brazil, including Manaus.20"