Brits who've already had Covid warned - getting it AGAIN 'doubles risk of death'

Catching Covid for a second time doubles the likelihood of death compared with single infections, a new study has found.

Scientists at the Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, also found reinfection makes you three times more likely to end up in hospital.

Writing in the Nature Medicine journal, the team of experts studied over 6 million people who had had the virus a varied number of times - including those who had never contracted the virus before.

It revealed repeated infections increases risk of health problems impacting the heart, the lungs and even the blood.

They also warned that those who have had the virus more than once could suffer from musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal issues and are at a higher risk of developing diabetes and kidney disease.

The study found reinfection makes you three times more likely to end up in hospital (AFP via Getty Images)

Lead author of the paper and clinical epidemiologist Ziyad Al-Aly, said: “During the past few months, there’s been an air of invincibility among people who have had Covid-19 or their vaccinations and boosters, and especially among people who have had an infection and also received vaccines; some people started to referring to these individuals as having a sort of superimmunity to the virus.

“Without ambiguity, our research showed that getting an infection a second, third or fourth time contributes to additional health risks in the acute phase, meaning the first 30 days after infection, and in the months beyond, meaning the long Covid phase.”

The study indicated that the risk seems to increase with each infection. “This means that even if you’ve had two Covid-19 infections, it’s better to avoid a third,” Al-Aly said. “And if you’ve had three infections, it’s best to avoid the fourth.”

Multiple bouts of the virus were shown to leave sufferers three times more likely to get heart disease and 1.6 times more likely to suffer brain issues (Getty Images)

The study, which looked a different variants of the disease including both the Delta and the Omicron, found that repeated infections makes patients 3.5 times more likely to develop lung conditions and issues.

Multiple bouts of the virus were shown to leave sufferers three times more likely to get heart disease and 1.6 times more likely to suffer brain issues.

Negative outcomes were found in both vaccinated and unvaccinated patients.