Health

Without Covid-19 jab, ‘reinfection may occur every 16 months’

With winter approaching, scientists are warning that such reinfection could add to the burden on the NHS, some calling for the vaccination programme to be extended to all schoolchildren, including two doses for teenagers.

As Covid-19 infections surge in England, people are increasingly reporting catching Sars-CoV-2 for a second or even third time.

New analysis has suggested that unvaccinated individuals should expect to be reinfected with Covid-19 every 16 months, on average.

“If you’ve got high-level prevalence, and frequent exposure to the virus, as you have in schools, you are going to see more and more people getting reinfected despite having been double vaccinated,” said Stephen Griffin, associate professor of virology at the University of Leeds.

This time last year, the assumption was that although reinfections could occur this was relatively uncommon, with only two dozen or so recorded worldwide.

We now know that natural immunity to Sars-CoV-2 begins to dwindle over time. One Danish study suggested that the under-65s had about 80% protection for at least six months, while the over-65s had only 47% protection.

The arrival of the Delta variant has further complicated the situation.

“Certainly in the healthcare workers that we’ve been studying, there are many people who had moderately decent levels of antibodies who have been, in some cases, previously infected and double-dose vaccinated, who have gone down with symptomatic infections,” said Danny Altmann, professor of immunology at Imperial College London.

“I think it is far more common than the kinds of numbers we were used to before.”

ONS data published on 6 October says that among 20,262 Britons who tested positive for Covid-19 between July 2020 and September 2021, there were 296 reinfections – defined as a new positive test 120 days or more after an initial first positive test – with an average (median) time of 203 days between positive tests.

However, the reinfection risk appears to have been higher since May 2021 when Delta took over as the predominant variant.

Further data from the US, where various states have now started tracking and reporting on reinfection rates, supports the idea there is a substantially higher risk of re-infection with Delta.

In Oklahoma, which has a population of about 3.9 million, there were 5,229 reinfections reported during September (equivalent to a reinfection rate of 1,152 per 100,000) and reinfections have risen 350% since May.

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines reinfection as a lab-confirmed case of Covid-19 occurring 90 days or more after a previously lab-confirmed case.

Dr Nisreen Alwan, associate professor in public health, at the University of Southampton, said: “With rising levels of Sars-CoV-2 infections in the UK, many of us are personally aware of children and adults who got reinfected, sometimes after a relatively short period from their first infection.

“We still don’t know much about the risk factors for reinfection but the theoretical assumption that once all the young get it the pandemic will be over is becoming increasingly unlikely.”

To help answer this question, Prof Jeffrey Townsend and colleagues at Yale University School of Medicine analysed known reinfection and immunological data from other coronaviruses, including those that cause Sars, MERS and common colds.

By combining this with antibody and other immunological data from people who had recovered from Sars-CoV-2, they were able to model the risk of Covid-19 reinfection over time.

The research, published in The Lancet Microbe, suggested that reinfections would become increasingly common as immunity waned, particularly when the number of infections was high.

“If we had no infection controls, no one was masking or social distancing, there were no vaccines, we should expect reinfection on a three-month to five-year timescale – meaning that the average person should expect to get Covid every three months to five years,” Townsend said.

Although vaccines are suppressing the level of infections, the UK reported 49,156 Covid cases on Monday, the highest figure since mid-July. Rates are highest among secondary schoolchildren, with an estimated 8.1% of this group thought to have had Covid-19 in the week ending 9 October.

“If you allow it to run amok in any age group then it runs amok in all age groups,” said Townsend.

“The major implications are that if you haven’t been vaccinated, you should get vaccinated, and if you’ve been infected, you should go ahead and get vaccinated anyway, because that will extend the duration of your protection.”

Griffin said: “If you don’t clamp down on prevalence [in schoolchildren], you’ll get the spread of infection and possibly reinfection, which will then potentially spread to parents whose vaccines may be waning, and more critically to grandparents and clinically vulnerable people.”

Health

Wike approves recruitment of 34 resident doctors for FCT hospitals

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, has approved the recruitment of 34 resident doctors for a seven-year residency training to enhance health-care delivery in FCT.

Mr Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant to the minister on Public Communications and Social Media, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday.

Olayinka explained that the 34 doctors would be the first batch of 60 medical doctors approved for residency training in eight specialities in FCT Administration hospitals.

He said that five out of the 34 doctors would work in the psychiatric department, four in internal medicine and one in general surgery.

Others, he said would comprise one in anesthesiology, eight in family medicine, six in ophthalmology and nine in obstetrics and gynaecology.

“This is the first time this is being done outside employees of the Health Management Board, thereby, giving doctors more opportunity and bringing more competent hands into healthcare delivery in the FCT,” he said.

The spokesman added that the remaining 26 doctors would be recruited in due course by the FCTA Civil Service Commission.

He said that the 26 doctors would comprise one for psychiatry department, four for internal medicine, eight for general surgery, five in anesthesiology, and eight paediatrics.

Health

Ogun Govt confirms Lassa fever outbreak as NYSC member dies

A 25-year-old member of the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC), has reportedly died of Lassa fever at a secondary health facility in ljebu North Local Government Area of Ogun State.

It was gathered that the female corp member who fell sick while in Ondo State, was brought to the health facility last Tuesday and later died same day.

This was contained in a statement made available to DAILY POST and signed by the Commissioner for Health, Tomi Coker, on Wednesday.

Coker also confirmed the outbreak of Lassa fever in the state.

The statement reads, “Ogun State has confirmed a case of Lassa Fever and as such declared Lassa fever outbreak.

“The index case is a 25-year-old female National Youth Corp member who fell sick while in Ondo State and was brought to on of our secondary health facility in ljebu North LGA on 18th March 2025 and later died same day.

“ Lassa fever is a viral Haemorrhagic disease that presents with High grade fever, Headache, General body weakness, Sore throat, Muscle pain, Cough, Nausea, Vomiting, Diarrhoea, Chest pain and Unexplained bleeding from the ears, eyes, nose, mouth and other body openings.”

Coker urged members of the community to report to the hospital if any of the listed symptoms is noticed.

“We implore members of the community to promptly report to the hospital if they notice any of these symptoms. Any case of febrile illness that has not responded to 48 hours use of anti-malaria or antibiotics should raise an index of suspicion for Lassa fever!

“We implore all Health facilities in Ogun State, public and private, to step up Infection Prevention and Control measures and to encourage compliance by all health facility staff.

“ Healthcare worker that suspects Lassa fever in a patient, are advised to call their local government disease surveillance and notification officer (LGA DSNO) whose numbers are placed in our health facilities or call State Disease surveillance and Notification Officer (0703-421-4893) or State Epidemiologist (0808-425-0881),” she added.

The commissioner, however reiterated the Governor Dapo Abiodun-led administration’s dedication to protecting the health of the citizens through continuous surveillance and prompt response to infectious diseases.

She added that the ministry in collaboration with the Rapid Response Team at ljebu North East is keeping the situation under control with enhanced surveillance and community engagement and mobilization for effective response.

Health

Lassa Fever: Death toll rises to 15 in Edo

The Edo Government has confirmed 15 deaths from Lassa fever since the outbreak of the disease in the state in December 2024.

The Director of Public Health, Edo State Ministry of Health, Dr Stephenson Ojeifo, disclosed this on Tuesday in Benin while responding to concerns on social media regarding the government’s efforts in tackling the outbreak.

“As of today, Edo State has recorded over 1,000 suspected cases of Lassa fever. Out of these, 103 have tested positive

“From the 103 confirmed cases, we have recorded 15 deaths, while others have been treated and discharged,” he said.

Ojeifo asserted that Gov. Monday Okpebholo had strengthened surveillance and contact tracing efforts, ensuring that all necessary resources were available to contain the outbreak.

He, however, attributed the high mortality rate to late referrals, noting that many patients arrive at the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH) in critical condition.

“The problem is that patients are only referred to ISTH when their condition has deteriorated.

“We have been sensitising residents to seek medical attention if they experience persistent fever that does not resolve, so that samples can be tested and treatment can commence early if needed,” he said.

The director urged healthcare providers to avoid delays in referring suspected cases to designated treatment centres.

He warned that any hospital found treating Lassa fever patients without proper authorisation would face sanctions.

In addition to the Lassa fever outbreak, Ojeifo disclosed that the state had recorded 11 suspected cases of Mpox, with five confirmed positives.

He, however, said that no deaths were recorded, as all affected individuals received timely medical attention.