(AP) – Can I get it again if I have had all the coronavirus?
It is possible, but such cases seem rare. Evidence is growing that people with whose bodies are strongly defending the virus are likely to be positive again for at least a few months and perhaps longer.
It is not uncommon to develop a degree of immunity to a virus after an infection, because our bodies are usually better at recognizing and repelling mistakes they have already encountered. And that also seems to be the case with the coronavirus, though scientists are still trying to figure out how long any protection can last.
Some reinfections have been confirmed, but two new studies suggest it is very uncommon.
In one, only two out of 1,265 previously infected UK health workers tested positive for coronavirus again in the next six months. In another study among people in the US, only 0.3% of people infected tested positive for the virus over the next few months – about the same percentage as the UK study.
The findings predict good benefits for the COVID-19 vaccines being rolled out, causing the kind of immune responses the studies found protective.
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The AP answers your questions about the coronavirus in this series. Submit it to: [email protected].
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