Can a person get reinfected with the novel Coronavirus or is he safe forever after once recovering from it? It is still a big question and not many facts have come up in this regard. Researchers are still trying to understand if a person once exposed to COVID-19 will be immune to it for a lifetime, like in the case of measles or are there chances of it returning again and again like common cold. Dr. Satyanarayan, General Physician, Ashwini HIV Care, Hyderabad says, “There is very little but very authentic data from around the world, which says that people have been reinfected with the COVID-19 disease. Once infected, the person might get immunity, but for how long the immunity lasts, there is no information on that yet and the research is still going on.”
When we are infected with a disease for the first time, our body takes a little time to develop antibodies. But it is better to be pre-equipped to fight off an infection for the second time. “Although vaccines are being developed by many countries, even they are unpredictable right now, regarding how long they will make our system immune to the infection”, says Dr. Satyanarayan.
“There are various host factors, viral factors and some other factors, on which depends how a person gets infected with a virus” he adds. Therefore, with no sufficient data to say if a person can get reinfected with the COVID-19 virus, it becomes important for the people to take all the preventive measures. However, some countries, like Chile have decided to hand out Immunity Passports to people who have recovered from the virus. But Dr. Satyanarayan suggests that since there is not much data available to study the possibilities, it is important for a recovered person to follow all the precautions like any normal person for the time being and keep their immunity boosted as it is the most important element that will help fight the virus.
Hence, as #IndiaFightsCorona, it is also the responsibility of every Indian citizen to cooperate and stand in solidarity against the virus, to not harm the frontline workers and follow the instructions given by the medical and government authorities. Social distancing for now is the key and must be mandatorily practiced even after the lockdown is lifted.
