Comment by KaiserPro | Hacker News Reader

Comment by KaiserPro | Hacker News Reader

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> Many in the office have caught it multiple times in the that timeframe.

If thats the case, and those are confirmed with PCR test, then we are catastrafucked. In the UK double infections are pretty rare. Given the routine level of testing (~1million tests a day) I'd expect to see some sort of indication or worry from the statisticians.

> a couple of which I know are fully vaccinated.

Again, I'd expect this to see some level of data to support double infections in vaccinated people with "normal" immune systems. I'd expect to see that data in the UK or Israel, possibly south korea as well.

I'm sure it happens, but at a scale that we would see in a normal office, suggests something really quite common. But I can't find evidence to support that (I have a lot of doctor friends, who'd i'd expect to get re-infected, especially as they have been more lax with the little PPE they have. )

So to give a bit more insight. We've been back in the office since May of 2020. The vast majority of the office works in close contact, and no mitigation efforts are taken to prevent infection. The vast majority of the office is also unvaccinated. What we do have is a response protocol. If you wake up and feel unwell at all, you're asked to go take a COVID test. Most will simply go take a rapid test on their way into work, and they'll wait in the parking lot until they get their results.

The last 2 outbreaks have been among the exact same group of people: the office bible study group. That group meets at least once a week in close quarters for an hour or two at a time.

As of right now, at least 5 of the people that are currently out and have positive PCR tests have had it at least one other time in the last three to four months, with another positive PCR test to confirm. Our company requires everyone send in their proof of a negative or positive tests each time they're taken, and you cannot return to work until it's been submitted.

Here's a recent study on reinfection: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8373524/

They found a "suspected" reinfection rate at 270 days of 0.8% so yeah, it's pretty rare.

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