Can you get COVID-19 more than once? What we do and what we don’t know about reinfection

Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, experts have been confronted with the question of whether a patient recovering from COVID-19 can contract the disease again. Although coronavirus reinfections are rare, there are several documented cases where it appears to have happened. Scientists are particularly interested in these cases because they could teach us a lot how coronavirus makes people sick, as well as how vaccines may be able to help end the pandemic.

There are also practical considerations. For example, if you’ve recovered from COVID-19, do you still need to wear a mask when you go out in public? You should get a vaccine when will one be available or won’t you need it now?

Like many questions about the coronavirus, there is still a lot we don’t know. That’s why experts almost always recommend a lot of caution when making decisions that could affect the health or well-being of others.

Here, we walk you through what doctors know and, just as importantly, what they don’t know about COVID-19 reinfection, including what to look for and measures you can take to protect yourself. This article is intended to be a general overview and not a source of medical advice. If you think you have COVID-19, here’s how to find a test site nearby.

Do I have to worry about being reinfected with COVID-19?

In most confirmed cases of reinfection, the patient tested positive for the first time SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 disease, at one point tested negative before testing positive for the second time. Although several dozen cases have been reported, they represent a very small percentage of the more than 45 million total confirmed cases worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.

In other words, while reinfection can occur in very limited circumstances, it is not a common occurrence. “Real-world experience suggests reinfections are very rare, but it would be interesting to see if there is seasonality for the virus with declining immunity next year,” Dr. Onyema Ogbuagu, a specialist told Heathline in infectious diseases of Yale Medicine.

Translation: it’s not really something you need to worry about right now.

How do I know if I have been reinfected or if COVID has never gone away?

Some people who feel sick weeks or even months after testing positive for COVID-19 may still experience symptoms from the initial infection, aka “long-haul travelers.”

In other cases, doctors performed genetic tests on samples of the virus taken from patients during the first infection and then again during the second. In cases where those samples showed genetically significant differences, the scientists concluded that they were separate and unrelated infections.

Unless you get thorough testing, you probably won’t know for sure if a recurrence of COVID-19 is a genuine reinfection or an example of a long-range coronavirus infection.

Are you better or worse the second time you take COVID-19?

Again, you will need the COVID test results to determine if your symptoms are linked to your initial infection or if they are new.

With most viruses, a second infection is usually milder than the first because the body has built antibodies against it. However, this is not always the case, and there is still a lot about SARS-CoV-2 doctors continuing to reveal. With some viruses, already having antibodies to the virus can actually make a second infection worse. Dengue fever and the Zika virus are familiar examples.

For the majority of patients who have had COVID-19 more than once, symptoms have typically been mild or absent at all with a second attack with the virus. But some patients’ second disease was actually worse than the first infection. It is too early to know for sure what the most typical reaction is, and there are too few cases to study.

Am I immune to COVID-19 if I’ve already taken it once?

The immune system is a complicated network of organs, tissues and cells that work together to protect the body from disease. It does not have an on / off switch. Rather, there are varying degrees of immunity that one can have against a particular pathogen or germ.

So far, doctors and scientists have avoided making strong claims about lasting immunity to COVID-19. According to epidemiologists, reinfection is unlikely for the first three months after testing positive for the virus.

How does COVID-19 reinfection affect a potential vaccine?

We won’t really know until when one or more vaccines are approved and widely distributed, but doctors hope coronavirus vaccines will provide people with at least enough immunity to be able to resume a normal life once enough people have been vaccinated. This is because in the vast majority of cases, COVID-19 patients so far don’t appear to contract the virus a second time, which gives scientists some hope that a vaccine will work.

Indeed, coronavirus reinfection cases could help researchers better understand how to best distribute and administer a vaccine. For example, people may need to be given regular booster shots, which boost immunity, until the virus is fully contained.

Do I still need to wear a mask or social distance if I have had COVID-19?

Every public health organization, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, recommends the same set of safety precautions for everyone, regardless of whether or not they have COVID-19 in the past. (The only exceptions are for cases of active infections, which require even stricter protocols). This means masks, social distancing, hand washing, regular cleaning of surfaces – everything the experts have told us to do since the start of the pandemic.

For specific details on this and more, here’s how to sanitize your home and car, where to buy the most popular face mask styles is how to enjoy a restaurant meal more safely during the pandemic.

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a doctor or other qualified health care practitioner with any questions about a medical condition or health goals.