If I already had the coronavirus, can I get it again?
It is possible, but these cases appear to be rare.
It is not uncommon to develop some immunity to a virus after an infection, since our bodies are generally better at recognizing and fighting insects they encountered earlier. And that also seems to be the case with the coronavirus, although scientists are still trying to figure out how long any protection can last.
Some reinfections have been confirmed, but two new studies suggest that this is very unusual.
In one, only two of 1,265 health professionals in the UK who were previously infected tested positive for coronavirus again in the next six months. In another study of people in the USA, only 0.3% of people who were infected tested positive for the virus in the coming months – roughly the same rate of positivity as the study in the United Kingdom.
The findings bode well for the COVID-19 vaccines being launched, which trigger the type of immune response that studies consider protective.
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The AP is answering your questions about the coronavirus in this series. Send them to: [email protected].
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