# Breakthrough cases among the already infected **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [December 2, 2021, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breakthrough-cases-among-the-already-infected/955338 "2021-12-02T04:38:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 2
**Author:** ![TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thegunismightierthanthepen/32/2981_2.png) [@TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheGunIsMightierThanThePen)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breakthrough-cases-among-the-already-infected/955338/2 "2021-12-02T05:45:52Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > Are there any documented cases of people who (vaccinated or not) **already had COVID** and then **got COVID again**? Yes. Just like how vaccine-induced immunity fades over time, necessitating the use of booster shots, the immunity produced by natural infection also wanes unless a person is regularly exposed to the virus. The chances of reinfection are also increased when new variants like Delta and Omicron emerge. > **[COVID hit 13 members of their family the first time. A year later it struck...](https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/11/27/1058128612/covid-reinfection-kids-grandparents-immunity-waning)** > > The second time Vanessa Quintero's family caught the virus, probably from her 8-year-old daughter, fewer people got sick. They and their doctors credit the protection of vaccination. You can also go into the [2020](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758) or [2021](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428) breaking news threads and search for the term “reinfect”, a lot of results pop up. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breakthrough-cases-among-the-already-infected/955338)._