cardiovascular, cardiopulmonary or neurological disease die from problems related to the coronavirus.
“It’s not that they specifically died from COVID,” says Bhatt, who is also a professor at Harvard Medical School. “But COVID tipped them over.”
Some preliminary research suggests what multiple bouts of COVID-19 might mean for heart and brain health. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, using data from the Department of Veterans Affairs, found that reinfection raised people’s risks of cardiovascular and other complications when compared with people who had one infection. The risk grew with the number of infections.
The work has not been peer-reviewed, but Bhatt calls its conclusions “believable” and says it made sense that with a major infection of any sort, getting infected a second time would mean more chances for problems.
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Vaccinations are still the best protection
The best protection against reinfection remains getting vaccinated and keeping up with boosters.
“There’s still a lot of people that aren’t vaccinated and were just thinking, ‘Well, I’ll get natural immunity, or I’ll just wait it out,'” Bhatt notes. “But those strategies won’t work.”
Vaccination helps even as the coronavirus evolves, Malani adds. “It still protects against severe infection. And we shouldn’t lose sight of that.”
Updated vaccines tailored to Omicron are expected to be available this year. Meanwhile, taking practical steps to avoid COVID-19 might be prudent, particularly for people who are traveling.
For Malani, a week ahead of a big vacation that required a negative COVID test, she urged her family to be cautious. “I said to everyone: ‘Listen, I think we all need to be really extra careful. Because if one of us gets COVID, none of us are going on this trip.'”
Social connections are important, she shares, but gatherings should be outdoors, or at least in well-ventilated areas. And people who are not feeling well should stay home.
The CDC says anyone who tests positive should stay home for at least five days and isolate from others. And while many guidelines about when to wear a mask have been relaxed, Bhatt encourages people to mask up in crowded indoor settings, “even if people around them aren’t.” Research shows it helps stop the virus’s spread.
Malani acknowledges it can be confusing when advice shifts on something such as the risk of reinfection. “This isn’t because the scientists and public health officials are asleep at the wheel,” she says. It’s what happens when experts learn more. So people should follow advice from reliable sources.
“The reason we care about this is because the vulnerable people can die, and our health care system can get overwhelmed with sick people,” she adds. “And we’ve seen that happen.”
By American Heart Association News
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