Are You Immune to the Coronavirus Disease after Recovering from It?
Even with COVID-19 testing becoming more accurate, and choosing to get one of the vaccines, there is still a chance you could become infected with the virus after recovering from it previously. When you get a virus like COVID-19 your body will produce antibodies to see if any of them could be the key used to kill the virus. If your body does not have the “key”, it will end up creating new antibodies to fight the virus. The reason it’s important to know you cannot be immune to COVID-19 is for your own health, as well as to prevent infecting more people with the virus and prolonging the spread. If you’re interested in receiving a COVID-19 antibody test, contact your health care provider or your state or local health departments to see if you’re eligible.
How Long Does Covid Immunity Last after Recovery?
While you will not be 100% immune to COVID-19 after recovering from the infection, you will have antibodies in your system for several months. One study found that people who only experienced mild to moderate COVID-19 still had antibodies that were able to fight off the virus for at least five months. The National Institutes of Health noted that immune cells and proteins in the body that circulate can recognize the pathogens and kill them if they are encountered again. This will protect the person from the virus and reduce illness severity. They go on to say “Antibodies—proteins that circulate in the blood—recognize foreign substances like viruses and neutralize them. Different types of T cells help recognize and kill pathogens. B cells make new antibodies when the body needs them.”
What Happens if a Recovered Person from COVID19 Develop Symptoms Again?
If you recover from COVID-19 but begin to notice similar symptoms from before your first infection, you should quarantine yourself. Along with quarantine, if you are experiencing symptoms again you should wear a mask indoors or in heavily populated areas. Worse than just reinfection, you can carry a significant amount of the virus and yet, not show any symptoms. To reduce the possibility of reinfection, the best course of action is to try to prevent the first infection. Getting a vaccine is the best first-line defense for protecting yourself from the virus, and it is recommended everyone get one of three vaccines.
Post Covid19 Symptoms After Recovery
While it is common for most people to recover from COVID-19 within a few weeks, others have reported some experience of post-COVID conditions. The conditions or symptoms one could experience after recovery from COVID can range from a number of ongoing health problems that might be new or old. Listed below are only a few of the symptoms that a person could experience, for a more detailed list visit the CDC website.
- Tiredness or fatigue
- Stomach pain or chest pain
- Fever
- Headache
- Muscle pain or joint pain
- Heart palpitations
- Change in taste or smell
You can experience any of these conditions four or more weeks after first being infected with the virus. It is also possible for someone who did not experience any symptoms at all while they had the virus to experience post COVID symptoms.
Are Recovered Persons with a Persistent Positive Test of COVID19 Infectious to Others?
Research has shown a person could recover from COVID-19 and yet still continue to test positive for weeks or even months after infection. This is despite the fact that the person is no longer contagious with the virus. While it has not been definitively established, experience with other viruses shows that it is unlikely that a person who has recovered from COVID-19 who is still testing positive will be infectious to those around them.
Those who have tested persistently positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA have, in some cases, had their symptoms of COVID-19 improve. Even with all of this research, it is important to note that it is impossible to predict that every person who experiences persistent or recurrent detection of COVID-19 is no longer infectious to others.
Accurate Testing with BioCollections
Accurate and reliable testing for COVID-19 is a vital aspect of the world we currently live in. At BioCollections, we work to have the most up-to-date testing methodologies available. As new information about COVID-19 variants becomes available from reliable sources like the CDC, our team immediately works to be able to provide accurate testing data for any of these new variants. Please contact us if you have any questions.
