The SARS-CoV-2 or the novel coronavirus was discovered a few months ago. Right now, scientists are still in the process of looking for answers involving the transmission of the deadly virus, as well as the solution to the disease it causes, COVID-19.

One of the questions that remain unanswered is the re-infection of the novel virus after a patient had recovered from the COVID-19.

According to many experts, people's bodies who get infected with different coronavirus strains tend to develop antibodies that make that person immune to another infection from the same virus for months to years. However, scientists are still in the process of figuring out if this is also the same as the deadly COVID-19.  

Getting Re-infected Immediately after Recovery

With the COVID-19 and the SARS-CoV-2, there is still a lot of unknown facts, says an article. Experts reveal that patients who tested positive again after getting the deadly illness may have previously been given a false-negative test result. The virus may be present inside the patient's body but was not detected by previously administered tests.

According to specialists, a person's antibody response which was triggered by the entry of a virus shows that it is highly improbable that survivors of the COVID-19 will get re-infected soon.

Normally, antibodies are produced by the body of patients approximately 7 to 10 days after the invasion of a virus in the body, says the University of Texas Medical Branch's virologist Vineet Menachery.

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Immunity from the COVID-19 after Recovery

There is no sufficient data that supports the idea that COVID-19 survivors are forever immune to the illness. Also, there are no studies that determine how long immunity from the COVID-19 will last. Regardless, there is some preliminary research that provides some clues. One example is research conducted by Chinese scientists. The results of the research point out that the antibodies of rhesus monkeys allowed them to have immunity from SARS-CoV-2 re-infection. However, the research is not yet peer-reviewed.

With the absence of additional information, scientists are looking at the available facts about other coronaviruses. According to the National University of Singapore's infectious disease expert and associate professor Hsu Li Yang, the world had only discovered the disease 3.5 months ago. The statements being made by scientists and other experts are based on the available facts about previously known coronaviruses. However, their applicability to the COVID-19 is still uncertain.

According to research by Taiwanese scientists, the people who survived the SARS outbreak in 2003 were found to have antibodies against the illness that lasted up to three years. This suggests that these people were immune to the illness. However, the people who recovered from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) were discovered to have developed antibodies against the illness that lasted for about 12 months.