Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Reinfection More Likely to Occur in Homeless People

A recently published study led by Boston Medical Center researchers showed that unstable housing was the only demographical factor linked to severe acute respiratory syndrome reinfection despite the antibody's presence from the first infection.

According to an ANI report, the data specified that housing and homeliness are linked to a two-fold greater chance of COVID-19 reinfection compared to people who are securely secured.

More so, the study findings showed that potentially high exposure levels of COVID-19 can overcome strong immune responses, and continuing to follow COVID-19 rules may contribute to the prevention of high-risk COVID-19 exposure among people suffering from housing insecurity.

Boston Medical Center infectious diseases physician Manish Sagar, MD said, most people who had previous COVID-19 infection appear to be protected from the virus for several months or even longer, yet some people can turn infected again with the virus a few months after.

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(Photo: Wolfgang van de Rydt on Pixabay)
Data analysis showed that the only demographical factor linked to reinfection was unstable housing and, or homelessness, suggesting that homeless people are more at risk for COVID-19 reinfection than those who have a stable living environment.

Factors Linked to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Reinfection

The infectious diseases physician said they performed this research specifically to understand if cases of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection are linked to any demographic characteristics or if reinfection is due to a deficiency in the immune system of a patient ScienceDaily specified in a similar report.

Using electronic medical record data from patients at Boston Medical Center, those who tested positive for COVID-19, who tested positive again for the virus after at least 90 days from initial infection were included in the study group.

All study participants who tested positive at least 90 days after an initial COVID-19 infection were categorized under the convalescent group.

In their study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, investigators compared numerous clinical and demographical characteristics such as sex, age, and comorbidities between the convalescent and reinfection groups.

Following a comparison between the two groups, the researchers tested plasma from a smaller subset of patients in each of the two cohorts for the presence of antibodies that recognize the virus.

Homeless People More at Risk for Reinfection

To verify reinfection, the study investigators sequenced the virus from a few patients following their first infection and compared it to a COVID-19 infection from the same patient after the second occurrence of the virus.

No participant in this research was given a COVID-19 vaccine, given that the data were gathered before the vaccines became available to the public.

The data analysis showed that the only demographical factor linked to reinfection was unstable housing and, or homelessness, suggesting that homeless people are more at risk for COVID-19 reinfection than those who have a stable living environment.

As shown in the data, there were no substantial differences in the antibodies between the reinfection and convalescent groups. Those re-infected still have SARS-CoV-2 antibodies existing, suggesting that exposure to recurrent and/or high levels of infection may beat the immune responses.

Struggle in Complying with COVID-19 Related Health Recommendations

Dr. Sagar, who's also a medicine and microbiology associate professor at Boston University School of Medicine said, the link between homelessness and COVID-19 reinfection may be an outcome of increased exposure to SARS-CoV-2 because of the struggle in complying with health recommendations related to the virus such as masking and social distancing, among others.

The study authors are currently exploring further components of the immune system that may be essential in protecting from COVID-19 reinfection.

They noted that future studies focusing on transmission networks within the homeless population, not to mention understanding of specific behaviors resulting in higher reinfection rates, could contribute to identifying potential mitigation strategies.

Related information about homelessness and COVID-19 is shown on Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's YouTube video below:

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