Is it possible to get reinfected with Omicron?

According to experts, a past COVID-19 infection doesn’t necessarily prevent someone from catching the virus again. This concept also applies to those who have been reinfected with the same strain of COVID-19, such as Omicron.

According to Dr. Sumon Chakrabarti, an infectious diseases physician with Trillium Health Partners in Mississauga, Ont., the possibility of being reinfected with COVID-19 has existed throughout the pandemic. It’s also possible to be reinfected with the same strain of COVID-19, said Dr. Martha Fulford, an infectious disease specialist at McMaster Children's Hospital in Hamilton, Ont. However, the chances of severe disease in this case are lower, she said.

“We know that you can get reinfected with the same strain, but…our immune system works to build antibodies to the strain that you're first exposed to, and those antibodies are usually very good at preventing symptomatic disease again,” she told CTVNews.ca on Wednesday in a phone interview.

Reinfection from respiratory viruses in general is quite common, Chakrabarti said.

“Respiratory viruses are known to have some level of immune evasion,” he said in a phone interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday, pointing to their ability to dodge immune responses. “SARS-CoV-2 being able to reinfect you is no different than what other circulating respiratory viruses do.”