COVID: Nearly 50% of reinfection cases are severe than first time, survey shows
Premium- About 18% citizens have had one or more individuals in the family who got reinfected with the virus in the last six months.
With COVID cases rising again, it is suspected many are getting reinfected for the second or a third time. Accordingly, a recent survey revealed that about 18% citizens have had one or more individuals in the family who got reinfected with the virus in the last six months. Of the reinfection cases, 46% said the infection contracted the second time was "more severe" than the first one.
NGO LocalCircles said, in its survey, the first question it asked was, 'How many individuals in your family (including yourself) do you have who have been infected with COVID-19 twice in the last 180 days?' This question received 12,381 responses, the NGO said.
18% citizens have at least one family member who got re-infected
About 2% of these said "five or more individuals" in their families got reinfected with Covid in the last six months. And, 8% of them said, "two-four individuals" in their families got reinfected with Covid in the last six months, and another 8% said, "one individual" was infected in this period.
On an aggregate basis, 18% citizens of the people surveyed had one or more individuals in their families who got reinfected with in the last six months, the NGO claimed in a statement.
45% got reinfected in weeks
In response to another question, 45% of those surveyed said they got reinfected "weeks after the original infection", while for 27%, it was six months apart, the statement said. This question received 11,604 responses.
For 46% reinfection was severe than the first time
The final question in the study asked citizens, "The individuals in your family (including yourself) who got infected by Covid twice or thrice in the last 180 days, how were their infections and associated symptoms", 46% on an average responded that their infection contracted the second time was "more severe" than the first one. This question received 11,106 responses.
For the survey, the organisation received more than 35,000 responses from citizens across several districts in India, and 67% of the respondents were men, while 33% were women.
As many as 42% respondents were from metro or tier-1 districts, 35% from tier-2, while 23% were from tier-3 and tier-4 and rural districts, it said.
The survey was conducted in Delhi, which is witnessing a sudden surge in last couple of weeks.
The city on Monday reported 1,060 new Covid cases in a day and six deaths, the highest in around four months, and a positivity rate of 10.09 per cent, the highest since January 24 when the figure was 11.8 per cent.
The city on Friday had recorded 1,797 coronavirus cases, the highest in nearly four months, along with one fatality while the positivity rate was 8.18 per cent.