Immunity May Not Be Possible: COVID-19 Reinfections Cause Severe Symptoms
Reports are showing that immunity might not be possible with COVID-19 since there were already documented cases of reinfection.
The first U.S. case of COVID-19 reinfection occurred in the state of Nevada with a 25-year-old man. It was shown in a study published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.
The patient was said to be seriously ill after the second infection. It was the first confirmed reinfection case in the United States, but it makes the fifth known reinfection case worldwide.
The 25-year-old patient was a resident of Washoe County and had no underlying immune disorders. He was required to be hospitalized when he tested positive for COVID-19 for the second time.
The patient experienced symptoms that include sore throat, cough, headache, nausea, and diarrhea. His initial symptoms fully cleared during his quarantine.
He continued to feel well and tested negative for COVID-19 on May 9 and May 26, but he then experienced symptoms again on May 28.
The symptoms now include fever, headache, dizziness, cough, nausea, and diarrhea. The patient's condition was found to have more severe symptoms than the first one.
Health experts concluded that the patient contracted COVID-19 on separate occasions.
"These findings suggest that the patient was infected by SARS-CoV-2 on two separate occasions by a genetically distinct virus. Thus, previous exposure to SARS-CoV-2 might not guarantee total immunity in all cases," the researchers were quoted.
They added that all individuals should take extra precautions to avoid infection, whether previously diagnosed with COVID-19 or not.
Recently, an elderly Dutch woman has become the first known person to die after contracting COVID-19 twice.
The woman was 89-years-old and suffered from a rare type of bone marrow cancer. However, researchers argued that her natural immune response could still have been enough to fight-off COVID-19.
They added that the type of treatment she received for cancer "does not necessarily result in life threatening disease."
COVID-19 Reinfections
Dr. Simon Clarke, associate professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, said that COVID-19 reinfections meant to tell that it is possible to get reinfected.
"It doesn't tell us that protective immunity is impossible," Clarke was quoted in a report.
He further said that it should be remembered that this might be just one of a very small handful of reinfections.
Clarke noted that it might be very rare or it might be one of the very first few and we are going to see a lot more of given time.
Researchers also said that reinfections could be an important factor in vaccine development and application.
They added more work is needed to review the immune reaction after reinfection.
Clinical Trial Postponements
Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson announced that it would temporarily halt its COVID-19 vaccine trials after one study participant experienced unexplained illness.
The company said it would release more information once they know more about the incident.
Eli Lilly also paused a trial of its monoclonal antibody treatment due to safety concerns.
A spokeswoman said an independent data safety monitoring board suggested the pause to ensure the safety of the antibody drug.
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