Coronavirus Q&A: Can You Catch It Twice?

Coronavirus Q&A: Can You Catch It Twice?

Since the coronavirus pandemic hit the world, people’s lives have changed and our reality has become uncertain and governed by fear and a constant feeling of not knowing what tomorrow may bring. 

There are various questions about the disease that don’t have an answer yet and that are freaking people out. 

One of them is whether antibodies produced by the body following an infection with the coronavirus provide some level of immunity, and if they do, it’s important to know for how long. 

The Guardian addresses the issues and cites Dr. Ben Killingley who said the following: “We know from ‘normal’ coronavirus studies done in the past you can infect people after about a year following an initial infection.”

Dr. Killingley is a consultant in acute medicine and infectious diseases at the University College London hospital.

A definitive case of reinfection has to be seen 

They also mention Dr. Joshua Schiffer who is an expert in infectious diseases at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in the US. The expert added that any signs of reinfection would require extremely in-depth scrutiny.

“I have yet to see a definitive case of reinfection reported in the scientific literature [to date]. To truly prove reinfection, and discriminate from prolonged viral shedding related to the first infection, would require sequencing of both the first and second viruses and demonstration that the two viruses are genetically different,” he said.

He continued and explained that it’s crucial to look at the symptoms and how long the reinfection lasts: 

“It is also important to recognize that documentation of one or a handful of reinfections does not prove that this is a common, epidemiologically important event.”

Check out more interesting questions and answers in the original article. Other than this, you can also check out the latest reports involving the new coronavirus and its effects on young people

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