Filipinos should expect the risk of mild COVID-19 reinfection, warned experts, adding that people must continue to wear masks and observe minimum health standards. Vaccination efforts, too, must continue despite the recent downward curve of infection.
“A repeat case of COVID means a person was infected, then recovered, then became infected again. The difference between the first and second infection should be at least 90 days or 3 months apart,” said Regina P. Berba, head of infection control at the Philippine General Hospital, at a webinar on March 4.official descriptionOf the 3,058 healthcare workers in PGH who were infected in the two-year span of the pandemic, 285 or 9.3% were reinfected, reported Dr. Berba.
With the high possibility of a new variant causing another surge in the future, recovered individuals may experience reinfection, as was the case with every wave of COVID-19 that the Philippines had since 2020.