A viral reprise: When COVID-19 strikes again and again

Erica Mancini, an accordionist, poses before taking the stage to perform in a Ukrainian avant garde jazz opera, Friday June 17, 2022, at Bohemian National Hall in New York. Mancini has suffered three COVID-19 infections: one at the beginning of the pandemic, one last year and one in May of this year. Medical experts warn that we'll be seeing more multiple reinfections given how long the pandemic is stretching on. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) Erica Mancini, an accordionist, poses before taking the stage to perform in a Ukrainian avant garde jazz opera, Friday June 17, 2022, at Bohemian National Hall in New York. Mancini has suffered three COVID-19 infections: one at the beginning of the pandemic, one last year and one in May of this year. Medical experts warn that we'll be seeing more multiple reinfections given how long the pandemic is stretching on. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

By LAURA UNGAR / AP Science Writer June 29, 2022 6 min read

For New York musician Erica Mancini, COVID-19 made repeat performances.

March 2020. Last December. And again this May.

“I’m bummed to know that I might forever just get infected,” said the 31-year-old singer, who is vaccinated and boosted. “I don’t want to be getting sick every month or every two months.”

But medical experts warn that repeat infections are getting more likely as the pandemic drags on and the virus evolves – and some people are bound to get hit more than twice. Emerging research suggests that could put them at higher risk for health problems.

There’s no comprehensive data on people getting COVID-19 more than twice, although some states collect information on reinfections in general. New York, for example, reports around 277,000 reinfections out of 5.8 million total infections during the pandemic. Experts say actual numbers are much higher because so many home COVID-19 tests go unreported.