Reinfection Estimated Rate 12.1% in the 3rd Week of November
"Higher Fatality Rate of Reinfection Since Omicron"
[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] As the COVID-19 pandemic prolongs, the reinfection rate is also increasing. In particular, the risk of death for those infected with COVID-19 twice is about 1.3 to 3 times higher than for those infected once.
According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters on the 1st, the proportion of suspected reinfection cases among confirmed cases in the third week of last month (November 13-19) was 12.11%, an increase of 14.43 percentage points from 10.68% in the previous week (November 6-12). During this period, 1 out of every 8.26 new confirmed cases was a person infected two or more times.
The proportion of reinfected cases among confirmed cases has been increasing weekly during the process of entering the 7th wave of resurgence, from 8.64% in the second week of October to 8.97%, 9.51%, 10.36%, 10.68%, and 12.11%.
As of midnight on the 20th, among a cumulative total of 25,686,216 confirmed cases, 711,642 were infected two or more times, accounting for 2.76% of the total. Among reinfected cases, those infected twice numbered 709,181 (99.65%), and those infected three times numbered 2,461 (0.35%). By age group for those infected twice, children aged 5-11 accounted for the largest share at 25.35%, followed by 18-29 years at 14.87%, 30-39 years at 12.60%, and 40-49 years at 10.68%.
Looking at the fatality rate by number of infections, the age-standardized fatality rate for those infected once was 0.11%, while for those infected twice it was slightly lower at 0.10%.
However, an analysis targeting only confirmed cases since 2022, when the Omicron variant became dominant, showed that the age-standardized risk of death for those infected twice was about 1.3 to 3 times higher than for those infected once.
Since July 24, when the Omicron subvariant BA.5 became dominant, the age-standardized fatality rate for those infected twice was 0.10%, which was 1.72 times higher than the 0.06% fatality rate for those infected once.
Looking at the overall fatality rate since January 2020, the fatality rates for reinfections in the 40s, 50s, and 60s age groups were 0.02%, 0.06%, and 0.22%, respectively, which were higher than the 0.01%, 0.03%, and 0.17% rates during the first infection.
The Central Disease Control Headquarters emphasized, "The proportion of reinfections has been increasing during the period when Omicron is dominant, and the risk of death upon reinfection is also high," adding, "Vaccination reduces reinfection and progression to severe illness, so even those with past infection history should receive vaccination according to the recommended schedule." As of midnight on the same day, the winter vaccine coverage rates were only 20.2% for those aged 60 and over, 25.5% for infection-vulnerable facilities such as nursing hospitals, and 17.0% for immunocompromised individuals.
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