Two new medical studies suggest that it is very unlikely that people infected once with COVID-19 will have positive results again for up to six months or more.
The researchers found that people with antibodies to natural infections were “at a much lower risk … in the order of the same type of protection you would get from an effective vaccine”, from getting the virus again, said Dr. Ned Sharpless, director of the US National Cancer Institute, which conducted one of the studies.
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“It is very, very rare” to be infected again, he said.
Both studies used two types of tests. One is a blood test for antibodies, which bind to a virus and help to eliminate it; antibodies can remain for many months after infection. The other type of test uses nasal samples or other samples to detect the virus or pieces of it, suggesting current or recent infection.
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