COVID-19 - Can I get it again?
Updated: Sep 21, 2020
Having recovered from COVID-19, some people are asking if they can get it again? With over 17 million people worldwide having had COVID-19, there is a lot of information available to us now. Many experts say that there is no evidence that people previously infected with COVID-19 can get reinfected with the virus. Most scientists say that people who have had COVID-19 gain some immunity to the virus that caused it. What we don’t know is whether this protection lasts a few months, a few years or a lifetime. Unfortunately, it is too early to tell.
With some infections, like measles for example, once you’ve had them you rarely get them again. Whereas with others, like ‘flu and tetanus, you can get them again. The flu virus mutates so quickly that we need a flu vaccine each year. The good news is that this new novel coronavirus mutates more slowly than the ‘flu virus. This gives researchers hope that any natural immunity, or a vaccine, would offer more lasting protection.