FOX Business’s Edward Lawrence reports on the Trump administration’s agreement with companies like Fujifilm to develop a coronavirus vaccine. Then, The Wall Street Journal editorial page deputy editor Dan Henninger looks at investing in biotech companies and the upcoming presidential election.
Can you get the coronavirus twice?
Scientists do not yet know for sure, but they think it is unlikely.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE MOVE BY CLICKING HERE
Health experts believe that people who had COVID-19 will have some immunity against a repeated infection. But they don’t know how much protection or how long it would last.
There have been reports of people testing positive for the virus weeks after they were believed to have recovered, leading some to think they may have been reinfected. Experts are more likely to say that people had the same disease or that tests found traces of the original infection. There is also a possibility that the tests were false positives.
CORONAVIRUS SYMPTOMS PER DAY: WHAT TO EXPECT
Scientists say there has been no documented instance of a patient transmitting the virus to others after testing positive again.
With similar viruses, studies have shown that people could get sick again three months to a year after their first infections. It is still too early to know if that is also possible with the coronavirus.
THE COST OF CORONAVIRUS TREATMENT
“It is a very emerging science,” said Dr. Philip Landrigan, director of the global public health program at Boston College.
A small US study published last week also found that antibodies to coronavirus may last only a few months in people with mild illnesses, suggesting that people might become susceptible again. But antibodies are not the only defense against a virus, and the other parts of the immune system may also help provide protection.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT FOX BUSINESS
Resolving the question of whether reinfection is possible is important. If it can happen, that could undermine the idea of ”immunity passports” to return to the workplace. And it would not bode well for hopes of receiving a lasting vaccine.
