Why are you now at least twice more likely to catch Covid

Millions of people across the UK now have Covid thanks to the growth of new options and the easing of restrictions. The latest figures show that 3.5 million people in the UK contracted the coronavirus last week.

Dr Jenny Harris, head of the UK’s Health Insurance Agency, said Covid-19 infections were now “at a very high level”, while England’s chief medical adviser Professor Chris Waite warned that England should expect another wave of the disease. This is due to the fact that free tests for Covid will be canceled this week.

Millions of people are now taking Covid for the second time – thanks in part to Omicron – the BBC reports. Omicron better suppresses the body’s immunity formed from a previous infection. Robert Caffee, BBC News’ head of statistics, said people are now “probably enough” to catch coronavirus several times.

“Immunity disappears and coronaviruses evolve,” he said. “Most people can expect to get infected with other coronaviruses several times in their lives, such as symptoms of a cold.”

He said that although less than 1% of Covid cases were infected again at the start of the pandemic, now Omicron has changed that, adding: “It’s very different from the versions of coronavirus we’ve seen before.

Its differences give it a better chance of overcoming the body’s early defenses based on the effects of previous infections. So infection rates again this year were about 10 times higher than previously reported pandemic rates. . “

The new version of Omicron is more contagious than it appeared at the end of last year. But experts say this strain is not likely to make you seriously ill — and if you’ve already contracted Covid, your symptoms may be milder.

“Your main concern should be whether you are going to pass it on to someone who is particularly vulnerable,” said Professor Eleanor Riley, an immunologist.