Ong Ye Kung on risks of COVID-19 reinfection

Getting sick twice is worse than getting sick once but getting sick for the second time is not worse than getting sick the first time, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung. He said this in reply to an MP's question in Parliament on Tuesday (Nov 29) on a US research paper suggesting that COVID-19 reinfection is more dangerous. Mr Ong said the media reports have not been clear or accurate. The paper did not compare the severity between first-time infections and re-infections. Instead, it compares the outcomes of those who had a first COVID-19 infection versus those with two or more infections, said Mr Ong. Therefore, the study found it is more likely for persons to develop adverse health outcomes after two or more episodes of COVID-19 infection compared with people who had only one infection episode. In Singapore, from September to mid-November this year, the mortality rate of re-infection cases was four per 100,000 cases, lower than that for first-time infection cases at 35 per 100,000 cases. The rate of severe illness was also lower for re-infections at 232 per 100,000 cases, compared with first-time infections at 282 per 100,000 cases. Data also shows that minimum vaccination protection lowers the risk of severe illness, whether it is a first or subsequent infection, said Mr Ong.