Patients who contracted COVID-19 in early 2020 and later got long COVID have a 76% chance of becoming reinfected, according to a study published Nov. 21 in The Lancet.
The China-based research conducted annual follow-ups with COVID-19 patients admitted to a Wuhan hospital between Jan. 7, 2020, and May 29, 2020. Of the 1,359 patients, 56% had at least one sequelae symptom, or long COVID.
As infections spiked when the omicron variant heavily circulated, the two-year checkup found a higher proportion of reinfection among long COVID patients, 76%, compared to 67% of those who did not have sequelae symptoms.
The prevalence of pneumonia was also higher among long COVID patients, with 5% experiencing pneumonia versus 2%.
Three months after omicron infection, 62% of long COVID two years-post initial infection had new or worse symptoms. Among the non-long COVID group, this rate was 41%.
The researchers concluded that "severe long COVID symptoms, abnormal organ function or limited mobility require urgent attention in future clinical practice and research."