Why You Shouldn't Panic About Covid-19 Reinfection Yet
The first confirmed case of Covid-19 reinfection in the United States was announced this week. A 25-year-old Nevada man tested positive for the virus in April, recovered, then fell ill and tested positive again in June.
His situation, which was described in a case report in The Lancet this week, has grabbed headlines for many reasons. The man was young and healthy with no underlying conditions. He not only contracted Covid-19 twice, but his subsequent infection was much more serious. He developed breathing problems and had to be hospitalised.
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It’s not the only reinfection case generating attention. This week researchers also reported the first death of a patient who was reinfected with Covid-19: An 89-year-old Dutch woman who was undergoing chemotherapy.
Together, the two cases — which join a handful of other reports describing reinfection — paint an unsettling picture. Not only is it possible to contract Covid-19 more than once, the second round can be severe.
But experts also caution against worrying too much about these recent developments, for several reasons. Here are a few to keep in mind.
The measures that protect against initial COVID-19 infection also protect against reinfection.
Since the early on in the pandemic, health officials have emphasiSed that we simply do not know all that much about Covid-19 immunity. Some experts believe that about 90% of people who get infected and who are symptomatic will have enough antibodies to fight off another exposure to the virus.
But that is really a best guess. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention went out of its way this summer to clarify that no one really knows exactly how Covid-19 immunity works, or how long it might last. Given that reinfection is possible, it is important for people to continue taking a layered approach to...
