Incidence of COVID-19 reinfection among Midwestern healthcare employees.

Given the overwhelming worldwide rate of infection and the disappointing pace of vaccination, addressing reinfection is critical. Understanding reinfection, including longevity after natural infection, will allow us to better know the prospect of herd immunity, which hinges on the assumption that na...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Anne Rivelli, Veronica Fitzpatrick, Christopher Blair, Kenneth Copeland, Jon Richards
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2022-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0262164&type=printable
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850024911738765312
author Anne Rivelli
Veronica Fitzpatrick
Christopher Blair
Kenneth Copeland
Jon Richards
author_facet Anne Rivelli
Veronica Fitzpatrick
Christopher Blair
Kenneth Copeland
Jon Richards
author_sort Anne Rivelli
collection DOAJ
description Given the overwhelming worldwide rate of infection and the disappointing pace of vaccination, addressing reinfection is critical. Understanding reinfection, including longevity after natural infection, will allow us to better know the prospect of herd immunity, which hinges on the assumption that natural infection generates sufficient, protective immunity. The primary objective of this observational cohort study is to establish the incidence of reinfection of COVID-19 among healthcare employees who experienced a prior COVID-19 infection over a 10-month period. Of 2,625 participants who experienced at least one COVID-19 infection during the 10-month study period, 156 (5.94%) experienced reinfection and 540 (20.57%) experienced recurrence after prior infection. Median days were 126.50 (105.50-171.00) to reinfection and 31.50 (10.00-72.00) to recurrence. Incidence rate of COVID-19 reinfection was 0.35 cases per 1,000 person-days, with participants working in COVID-clinical and clinical units experiencing 3.77 and 3.57 times, respectively, greater risk of reinfection relative to those working in non-clinical units. Incidence rate of COVID-19 recurrence was 1.47 cases per 1,000 person-days. This study supports the consensus that COVID-19 reinfection, defined as subsequent infection ≥ 90 days after prior infection, is rare, even among a sample of healthcare workers with frequent exposure.
format Article
id doaj-art-e228afd2a02a4318aeeb0e5357422787
institution DOAJ
issn 1932-6203
language English
publishDate 2022-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj-art-e228afd2a02a4318aeeb0e53574227872025-08-20T03:00:59ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-01171e026216410.1371/journal.pone.0262164Incidence of COVID-19 reinfection among Midwestern healthcare employees.Anne RivelliVeronica FitzpatrickChristopher BlairKenneth CopelandJon RichardsGiven the overwhelming worldwide rate of infection and the disappointing pace of vaccination, addressing reinfection is critical. Understanding reinfection, including longevity after natural infection, will allow us to better know the prospect of herd immunity, which hinges on the assumption that natural infection generates sufficient, protective immunity. The primary objective of this observational cohort study is to establish the incidence of reinfection of COVID-19 among healthcare employees who experienced a prior COVID-19 infection over a 10-month period. Of 2,625 participants who experienced at least one COVID-19 infection during the 10-month study period, 156 (5.94%) experienced reinfection and 540 (20.57%) experienced recurrence after prior infection. Median days were 126.50 (105.50-171.00) to reinfection and 31.50 (10.00-72.00) to recurrence. Incidence rate of COVID-19 reinfection was 0.35 cases per 1,000 person-days, with participants working in COVID-clinical and clinical units experiencing 3.77 and 3.57 times, respectively, greater risk of reinfection relative to those working in non-clinical units. Incidence rate of COVID-19 recurrence was 1.47 cases per 1,000 person-days. This study supports the consensus that COVID-19 reinfection, defined as subsequent infection ≥ 90 days after prior infection, is rare, even among a sample of healthcare workers with frequent exposure.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0262164&type=printable
spellingShingle Anne Rivelli
Veronica Fitzpatrick
Christopher Blair
Kenneth Copeland
Jon Richards
Incidence of COVID-19 reinfection among Midwestern healthcare employees.
PLoS ONE
title Incidence of COVID-19 reinfection among Midwestern healthcare employees.
title_full Incidence of COVID-19 reinfection among Midwestern healthcare employees.
title_fullStr Incidence of COVID-19 reinfection among Midwestern healthcare employees.
title_full_unstemmed Incidence of COVID-19 reinfection among Midwestern healthcare employees.
title_short Incidence of COVID-19 reinfection among Midwestern healthcare employees.
title_sort incidence of covid 19 reinfection among midwestern healthcare employees
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0262164&type=printable
work_keys_str_mv AT annerivelli incidenceofcovid19reinfectionamongmidwesternhealthcareemployees
AT veronicafitzpatrick incidenceofcovid19reinfectionamongmidwesternhealthcareemployees
AT christopherblair incidenceofcovid19reinfectionamongmidwesternhealthcareemployees
AT kennethcopeland incidenceofcovid19reinfectionamongmidwesternhealthcareemployees
AT jonrichards incidenceofcovid19reinfectionamongmidwesternhealthcareemployees