Day after day it’s coronavirus, coronavirus, coronavirus. We’re washing our hands like crazy, cleaning our houses more than ever before; we’re even making our own hand sanitizer since there’s no more to be had on store shelves. We’re also practicing social distancing as best we can – helped in part by the fact that just about everything seems to be canceled, and now they’re even closing down the bars and restaurants.
What if, though, after all of our precautions, we do happen to come down with coronavirus? Well, it’s not an automatic death sentence. In fact, anyone who’s in reasonable health stands a good chance of recovering. But what happens then? Once you do recover from coronavirus, does that mean you can now go out and do whatever you like – even touch your face! – without having to worry, since you’ll be immune to the disease? Sadly, no. Coronavirus is a disease you can be reinfected with.
Business Insider reports that a tour guide in Japan was the first confirmed case of coronavirus reinfection. She became ill in January, spent some time in the hospital, and then apparently recovered. Three weeks later, she was back in the hospital with another coronavirus flare up. An isolated incident? It doesn’t seem to be.
The Los Angeles Times reports more than 100 known cases in China where coronavirus patients, apparently recovered, then fell ill again. While these reported incidents account for less than 0.2 percent of total Chinese coronavirus cases, the numbers might actually be higher, with a report from one province showing some 14 percent of coronavirus patients becoming reinfected after recovery.
We’re still in early days with COVID-19, as far as medical research goes, so science does not, as yet, know everything about this disease. It is thought that many coronavirus sufferers do, in fact, develop a certain protective immunity against reinfection after their first case of coronavirus, but it is not known how long this immunity may last.
“You look good. How are you feeling this morning?” “I’m actually feeling really great.”
Dr. Peter Jung, assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, told HuffPost that patients, particularly younger ones, may, quote, “likely develop at least short-term immunity to the specific coronavirus that causes COVID-19.” But he notes that “just as the flu can mutate, so could COVID-19, which would make an individual susceptible to reacquiring the infection.”
Dr. Stephen Gluckman explained to HuffPost,
“Coronaviruses aren’t new, they’ve been around for a long, long time and many species – not just humans – get them. So we know a fair amount about coronaviruses in general. For the most part, the feeling is once you’ve had a specific coronavirus, you are immune. We don’t have enough data to say that with this coronavirus, but it is likely.”
Even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention admit that “immune response to COVID-19 is not yet understood” at this time. The director of Hong Kong University’s School of Public Health, meanwhile, told the Los Angeles Times,
“If you get an infection, your immune system is revved up against that virus. To get reinfected again when you’re in that situation would be quite unusual unless your immune system was not functioning right.”
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, said this when he was asked at a hearing if someone who gets infected once is immune:
“We haven’t formally proved it, but it is strongly likely that that’s the case. Because if this acts like any other virus, once you recover, you won’t get reinfected.”
“We don’t know how long that protection lasts. Maybe a year or longer?”
And Jon Cohen, emeritus professor of infectious diseases at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, told the Guardian,
“It is very likely, based on other viral infections, that yes, once a person has had the infection they will generally be immune and won’t get it again. There will always be the odd exception …”
Remember: Practicing social distancing, washing your hands thoroughly, and not touching your face are still said to be your best bet at avoiding COVID-19 altogether.
Watch the video find out Are You Immune To The Coronavirus After Getting It Once?
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