Riding the waves in the pandemic tail: incidence, risk factors and impact of SARS-COV-2 reinfections

Introduction and objective Re-infections with SARS-CoV-2 occur frequently due to waning immunity after previous infection and/or vaccination and the appearance of virus variants that partially evade existing immunity. In the current phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is therefore still a risk of new corona waves, especially during the winter season. Better understanding of the duration of protective immunity and the risk of reinfections, including their influence on individual health, makes it possible to be better prepared for new corona waves and to target measures that limit the impact on individuals and society as effectively as possible. can take. That is why this project focuses on research into risk factors for reinfections, including possibly declining immunity against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and into what these infections mean for health and daily functioning in the short and long term. Plan of approach This research requires studying significant numbers of people, which is possible in this project through a collaboration of 7 ongoing, so-called cohort studies in which adults and children who have experienced COVID-19 are studied. Because these people have been followed closely for a long time, a lot of important information is already known, for example about previous infections and vaccinations. In the current project, blood samples for immunological determinations and data on health and functioning are collected from approximately 1350 participants (+- 300 children, 1050 adults) of these cohorts at four 3-monthly time points. Participants are also asked to take additional respiratory samples at home for respiratory complaints in the laboratory, in addition to a corona self-test. Based on the wealth of previous data from the individual cohort studies, supplemented with this newly collected data, precise analyzes are performed to better understand the risk of reinfections and its impact on health and society. This project builds on the previous LOCOMOTION project.