COVID-19 reinfection drives up the chance of getting long COVID-19, says expert

People should still consider masking when it's necessary.
People should still consider masking when it's necessary. Photo credit Getty Images

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – The Bay Area is home to the highest COVID-19 case rate in the state and while precautions like widespread masking still remain loose, some local health officials are advocating for individuals to don their masks once again.

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But more and more that as the pandemic wages on, risk of transmission is becoming a personal decision that people must make for themselves.

"Where we're at with the pandemic really should be a conversation to have with every individual, every patient," Dr. Panagis Galiatsatos, Director of the Tobacco Treatment Clinic and Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine on KCBS Radio's "Ask an Expert" on Wednesday with Holly Quan and Jason Brooks.

"The weapons we have, the therapies we have for COVID-19 are really to prevent hospitalizations," he said. "The vaccines are to prevent severe COVID-19."

These tools have changed the sort of risk people have by catching the virus, but it can still take people out of work, out of school or even lead to long COVID-19.

"Every patient, every person needs to have that risk conversation with themselves and with their families," said Galiatsatos.

Simultaneously, as the pandemic continues to fluctuate, the rules may as well, and that might just be the way things are for the near future.

Masking may become a necessity again in some instances, like for businesses. If employees get COVID-19 and get sick, they may not need to go to the hospital, but they will have to miss work, and that can disrupt business operations.

"This is a behavior conversation we're now having," he said. "Because the mask is the only weapon we have to prevent catching COVID-19."

The vaccines and the medications just don’t work the same way at preventing transmission.

It's likely that by giving people more autonomy to make the decisions themselves to keep masking, they might opt to do so, because they don't want further life disruptions, like missing work, said Galiatsatos.

Particularly as the virus doesn’t seem to be going away, and is even reinfecting people who've already had it, less than four weeks since the first infection, he said.

"This virus is learning to behave and live in us," he said. "And that's kind of a concern that many of us have."

While a lot is still unknown about long COVID-19, getting reinfected does heighten the odds of doing so.

"Many patients will tell you, they'd rather have COVID-19 several times over than long COVID-19," said Galiatsatos. "Long COVID-19 is not something to dismiss."

This is another reason, he argued, to keep masking when necessary. "We need to be more encouraging," he said. "The best decision to make right now is to not catch COVID-19."

The goal should still be to avoid getting the virus altogether, if possible, despite the somewhat fatalistic view some have taken that getting the virus is inevitable.

"Not catching it should still be the priority," he said.

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Featured Image Photo Credit: Getty Images