COVID-19 reinfections probably rare, according to Italian studyCOVID-19 infection was 94% less likely in people previously infected than in those never infected, according to a research letter late last week in JAMA Internal Medicine.
However, the researchers note, their study concluded before COVID-19 variants became dominant.The researchers followed 1,579 COVID-positive patients and 13,496 COVID-negative patients who received reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) diagnoses from February to July 2020 in Lombardy, Italy.
After an average follow-up time of 280 days (end date, Feb 28, 2021), 5 previously COVID-infected patients tested positive again via RT-PCR (0.3%), and 528 people were infected for the first time (3.9%).T