Genetic study suggests US man was infected twice with coronavirus

[canetoad]

The first study to investigate the case of a person in the US who contracted COVID-19 twice found reinfection can occur swiftly and the second bout of illness can be more severe.

The research, published in the Lancet medical journal, examined the case of a 25-year-old man living in Nevada who became infected with two different genetic variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in less than two months. He tested negative twice in between, meaning he's unlikely to have suffered a single prolonged infection.

The findings come as US President Donald Trump says he's immune to the virus after a single encounter. Any new findings on resistance can also have implications for a vaccine as drugmakers race toward the finish line.

The degree of protective immunity after a COVID-19 infection is one of the pandemic's great unknowns.
Loading Reports of reinfection are rare, even as more than 37 million cases have been recorded worldwide.

https://www.theage.com.au/world/north-america/genetic-study-suggests-us-man-was-infected-twice-with-coronavirus-20201013-p564ku.html

Psst - don't tell Trump.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. Another person who was apparently infected a second time had a vastly milder infection.

Either way, a second infection seems very uncommon, at least so far.

The really important thing is that this is a NOVEL virus, meaning none of us has ever come up against it before. That's apparent by the vast array of responses, all the way from totally symptomatic to dying. And inbetween are those who recover quickly and those who are the long termers. I personally know a man who got sick back in April and is still not well.

None of this bodes well for the long term future.

[Ms. Toad]

2. There's another thread with the first confirmed death frmo reinfection.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100214276616

There are now 23 documented reinfections . . . most aren't documented since you have to sequence the DNA to prove it is a new infection with a different strain.