‘What the hell?’: the unlucky Australians who have caught Covid twice

When Peter Coleman took a rapid antigen test just weeks after recovering from Covid-19, it was partially "for the fun of it".

Peter and his husband first tested positive to the virus on 10 January, during the post-holiday period that saw a spike in cases hit Melbourne and much of Australia.

"I was feeling really unwell but I didn't expect to be positive, I thought I'd just double check," he says.

Peter is one of the unlucky Australians to have been reinfected with Covid-19 after making a full or partial recovery from the virus.

No data on Covid-19 reinfections is currently being collated by the federal government. But a spokesperson from the Department of Health says the emergence of Omicron has seen a "significant increase" in the risk of reinfection compared with previous variants.

"There is increasing evidence that there is little cross-neutralisation with Omicron," the spokesperson says.

"Whether Omicron infection protects against another Omicron infection is unclear and there remains significant uncertainty about the durability of immunity following infection with the emergence of Omicron."