The Minnesota Department of Health announced last week that Reinfection cases have been added to the COVID-19 web data for 2021. Polk County Public Health and the Minnesota Department of Health are warning everyone who has already had COVID-19 that reinfection is possible even if you have been vaccinated.
Polk County Public Health Director Sarah Reese explained how a reinfection case is classified and how it happens. “Reinfection happens when someone who has had a positive COVID-19 case becomes reinfected with the disease again sometime later on,” said Reese. “We have been tracking this data, and the case definition that the CDC put out says they define it as a person who tests positive for COVID-19 more than 90 days from a previous positive test.”
Reinfection cases are classified as their own and have been added to the total number of cases in the state and Polk County. From January until the end of September, the Minnesota Department of Health reported 30 reinfection cases within Polk County and another 14 in October for a total of 44 reinfection cases in Polk County in 2021.
Just because someone has had COVID-19 before doesn’t mean getting it a second time is any less dangerous. “They are real cases, they can be infectious, and they certainly can spread the disease,” said Reese. “So, we want to be transparent about why the numbers over the last week have gone up and may look like they’re spiking way above where they normally have been. It’s only because all of these reinfection cases have now been added.”
Reese noted that COVID-19 is a virus, and anyone can be reinfected more than once, which is perhaps why the numbers of reinfection have been going up in recent months. “As the pandemic stretches, some people can and will be infected more than once. We see this with any virus,” said Reese. “We do think we will see more reinfections, and people need to be cautious about that. The virus is newer still in the grand scheme of things, and we don’t necessarily know the severity and frequency of reinfection still.”
For more information on the virus and reinfection cases, you can go to https://www.health.state.mn.us/. For more local information in Polk County and COVID-19 cases as well as reinfection cases, you can go to https://www.co.polk.mn.us/191/Public-Health.
Reese also gave a few good reminders of ways people can help fight the disease as we head into the winter season. “It is important that people consider getting vaccinated if they haven’t. That is our best method of mitigation,” said Reese. “We are also very excited about that because 5-11-year-olds are now eligible to be vaccinated, which is very exciting news. Even if someone has already had Covid and fully recovered, they are still at risk for reinfection. So people need to be mindful of that and understand that the little things we can do can make a big difference.”
