As an immunologist with four decades of research on antibodies under my belt, I always felt like I had a pretty good handle on COVID-19.
But when I caught the virus in May, my hubris quickly turned into humility.
COVID-19 left me with a serious heart complication that occurs in 2 per cent of infected people, with the risk not diminished by immunisation or prior infection.
It was a scary experience, and a sobering reminder that the virus isn’t done with us — even when we are so desperately done with it.
Here I share a perspective on recent data that debunk three COVID myths that many of us, myself included, have entertained more than we should have — and why I and so many others are working hard to stop endless waves of reinfection.
Myth #1: It’s just a cold now so let’s get it over with
Like everyone, I’d grown tired of the pandemic and all the ways it has upended our lives.
“Maybe it would be better to catch the ‘rona and get it over with, now that I’m fully vaccinated?” I wondered.
After all, isn’t it just a cold in fully immunised people? And once I’ve had it, won’t I have acquired immunity that will mean I won’t get sick at all if I get it again?
That’s certainly what I’d have hypothesised from four decades of frontline immunology research into T and B lymphocytes.
Last month, US researchers shared the preliminary results of a study looking at the impacts of SARS-CoV-2 infection and reinfection in a cohort of more than 5 five million American veterans.
The researchers examined the health records of more than 250,000 people who had been infected once; 36,000 people who had been infected twice; and 2,000 people who had been infected three times.
They found that for every health outcome measured, the Hazard Ratio — a measure of how often something happens in one group compared to another — increased with each COVID-19 infection.
The risk of cardiovascular disease, for example, increased after one infection, but doubled in people who had two infections, and tripled in those who had been infected thrice.
The numbers translate into 50 extra cases of heart disease per 1,000 people who’ve had COVID-19 twice.
Unfortunately, vaccination didn’t seem to help: the cumulative risk of heart disease was indistinguishable when the researchers split people who’d received two or more COVID-19 jabs and those who hadn’t been vaccinated at all.
The researchers found similar cumulative risks with each reinfection for pulmonary disease, clotting and blood disorders, neurological disease, mental health problems, kidney disease, musculoskeletal disease, fatigue, and so on.
These problems occur most frequently in the first month after infection, but can emerge up to six months later.
We know that COVID-induced heart problems aren’t unique to military veterans, either.
Because of the risk of sudden cardiac death in people with heart muscle inflammation, competitive athletes at 10 US universities who tested positive for COVID-19 were systematically screened for COVID-19 induced acute myocarditis.
Researchers found 2.3 per cent of athletes had developed heart problems deemed sufficiently grave to sideline them for 3-6 months.
The message from the data is clear: COVID-19 is not just a cold, and having it before doesn’t “get it over with”.
Myth #2: Being fully immunised stops infection
If you’re immunised and recently boosted, that stops you from getting infected … right?
That’s another bit of hubris I carried — up until very recently.