Expert: Low Protection, Elderly Vulnerable To Covid-19 Reinfection And Death

Illustration of COVID-19. (Prasesh Shiwakoti/Unsplash)

Jakarta - The majority of people who have been infected with COVID-19 have been protected for at least six months from reinfection. However, recent research reveals a different fact.

In the results of a study published in the Lancet medical journal, it is stated that elderly people (seniors) are more susceptible to re-infection with COVID-19, compared to younger people, after being both infected.

From the study conducted, it was found that only 0.65 percent of patients tested positive for COVID-19 for the second time, having previously been infected during the first and second waves in Denmark.

That figure is much lower, than the 3.27 percent who tested positive for the virus after having tested for COVID-19 using a very accurate PCR test, having previously been negative.

However, the study also revealed that those over the age of 65 had only 47 percent protection against reinfection. Lower than 80 percent protection for the younger.

"Our study confirms what some other people seem to suggest, reinfection with COVID-19 is rare in younger, healthier people. However, older people are at greater risk of contracting it again," said Steen Ethelberg of the Statens Serum Institute of Denmark, launch Reuters.

"Because the elderly are also more likely to experience symptoms of severe illness, and unfortunately, die. Our findings explain how important it is to implement policies to protect parents during a pandemic, "he said.

The study authors found no evidence that protection against reinfection decreased during the six months of follow-up. However, further research is needed to assess protection against reinfection of the coronavirus variant.

The data analyzed was collected through Denmark's national testing strategy, in which 69 percent of the population, or 4 million people, were tested during 2020.

Commenting on the results, Imperial College London professors Rosemary Boyton and Danny Altmann said the results show less protection and are more concerning "than previous research.

"All this data is confirmation, if needed, for SARS-CoV-2. The hope of immune protection through natural infection is perhaps beyond our reach. "Global vaccination programs with highly efficacious vaccines are a long-lasting solution," they said. in a related commentary also published in the Lancet.