People getting reinfected???

[Sunflower318]

My husband said that he saw that people that had the virus are getting sick again a month later. They think that the virus is laying dormant and popping back up in the body. This is terrifying. I haven't dared to Google it on whether or not he got it from a credible website. Anyone know anything about this??

[glassgirlw]

I remember hearing something about that when the virus first cropped up in Wuhan and they started seeing some recoveries, but some caught it again. I haven’t really seen much mention of that in the states yet though.

[yeti]

The main doctor on the Corona virus team here in the USA said he is fairly confidant that, if this acts like all general viruses (so far has all the common traits), then he is confident there will be no reinfection come second wave in fall.

[Sunflower318]

But they say the virus mutated. Ugh. I just dont know what to beleive anymore.

[WiseMonkey]

My husband said that he saw that people that had the virus are getting sick again a month later. They think that the virus is laying dormant and popping back up in the body. This is terrifying. I haven't dared to Google it on whether or not he got it from a credible website. Anyone know anything about this??

A relapse and reinfection are two different processes. I guess as with any virus (a cold or seasonal 'flu) a relapse is possible if the person hasn't completely recovered from their initial illness. I know with covid that people can test negative then test positive a few days later. It could be that the virus takes longer to clear in some people more than others.

Immunologists know that the covid virus gives a person immunity but they don't know at this stage how long for.
It's actually unlikely that you can catch the same virus twice, that's why new flu vaccines are produced every year.

[WiseMonkey]

But they say the virus mutated. Ugh. I just dont know what to beleive anymore.

It'a thought to have mutated from an animal (maybe a bat) which carried the Sars virus and then crossed over to humans.

[AntsyVee]

This can happen in rare cases with some viruses, like the one that causes Chicken pox. If someone gets a very mild case, sometimes they don’t build up enough antibodies to prevent reinfection. But once a heavy enough dose of the virus goes into the system to build up antibodies, you shouldn’t be able to get it again, like WiseMonkey said.