[ad_1]
The scary thing finally happened: Someone contracted the coronavirus twice and got sicker the second time. A 25-year-old man in Nevada contracted COVID-19 in March, got better in April, and fell ill again in May. He had worse symptoms in the second bout, severe enough to require hospitalization.
Three other confirmed reinfection cases were also reported this week: one in Hong Kong (the first documented case) and two in Europe. These don’t necessarily make me more worried about our vaccine prospects, however, and that doesn’t mean the pandemic will continue forever. We have four documented cases of reinfection. But that’s out of 24 million cases of this disease so far, and weird things happen. Most experts expected us to see at least a few.
For months, there have been occasional and anecdotal reports of people testing positive for COVID-19 twice. None of them turned out to be a reinfection. For most of those people, the second test likely detected a residual dead virus that was still floating in people’s noses and throats after their first infection.
However, in these reinfection cases, the researchers analyzed the virus from the first time people got sick and compared it to the virus the second time they got sick. In each case, the two viruses had slightly different genetic sequences, showing that the second positive tests weren’t just leftover viruses.
Here’s the other important thing: In Hong Kong’s case, the second infection didn’t cause any symptoms. That means your immune system likely recognized the virus from the first infection and kept it under control. We don’t know why that didn’t happen to the man from Nevada. You were not tested for antibodies the first time you got sick, so you may just not have produced any. That is the most encouraging option. The other possibility is that he had antibodies, but they aggravated the infection (it happens with other viruses, such as dengue).
This case of # COVID-19 Of note is reinfection within 48 days with symptoms, including the need for supplemental oxygen, in a 25-year-old patient. It is probably very rare, given that we have not seen many cases like this despite the 8 month pandemic. https://t.co/QguAGjflOR
– Dr. Abraar Karan (@AbraarKaran) August 28, 2020
The case studies only answer one question: can you get COVID-19 twice? But that’s all they do. For the most part, they ask questions rather than answer them. How common is reinfection? How contagious are people if they get sick a second time? Are people who don’t make many antibodies the first time they get the virus the only people who can get it again?
The pandemic feels like it has lasted 1 million years, but in a more real way, the coronavirus has only existed in the human population for about nine months. Scientists have learned a lot, so fast, but there is still a long way to go. The human immune system is strange and confusing, and it is dealing with a new virus never seen before. It will take time to understand what is happening.
Oh, and the other thing: this is a reminder that even if you’ve already had COVID-19, you still need to be careful.
This is what happened this week.
Investigation
Biogen conference likely resulted in 20,000 COVID-19 cases in the Boston area, researchers say
In February, before learning about the extent of COVID-19 in the US, 175 biotech executives gathered for a conference in Boston. At that meeting, the virus spread from one attendee to another, with the outbreak ultimately causing tens of thousands of cases around the world, according to an analysis. The study shows that even a small gathering can have far-reaching devastating ripple effects over the course of the pandemic. (Jonathan Saltzman / The Boston Globe)
Four scenarios on how we could develop immunity to Covid-19
Months after the pandemic, scientists are still unsure what happens to our immune systems after we recover from COVID-19. Most researchers believe that people will have Some protection against the virus, but they still don’t know what that protection will be like Statistics News analyzed some of the possibilities. (Helen Branswell / Statistics News)
Development
FDA Authorizes Abbott’s COVID-19 Rapid Test at $ 5
The Food and Drug Administration authorized a $ 5 15-minute COVID-19 test that works like a pregnancy test – a nasal swab is inserted into the bottom of a test card and a colored line appears if the sample is positive for coronavirus. It’s a big step forward the experts say. (Nicole Wetsman / The edge)
Moderna Says Covid-19 Vaccine Shows Signs Of Working In Older Adults
The drug company conducted a small study that tested its COVID-19 vaccine candidate in people 56 and older and found that they produced the same types of immune responses as younger people. This does not mean that they are protected from infection with the coronavirus; we still need much larger trial data to prove it. But it’s a promising sign: Older people’s immune systems are weaker than younger people’s, and vaccines sometimes don’t work as well for them. (Peter Loftus / The Wall Street Journal)
What if the first coronavirus vaccines are not the best?
As companies like Moderna and Pfizer rush to collect data on their COVID-19 vaccine candidates by the end of the year, dozens of other companies are moving at a slower pace. They are building their vaccines using different types of technology than the ones at the front of the pack, and some researchers believe they may have more staying power. “The first vaccines may not be the most effective,” said Ted Ross, director of the Center for Vaccines and Immunology at the University of Georgia. The New York Times. (Carl Zimmer / The New York Times)
Perspectives
What happened in room 10?
Reporter Katie Engelhart investigated the deadly COVID-19 outbreak at the Life Care Center in Kirkland, Washington, the first hotspot for the virus in the United States. Clearly, something went wrong, but who was to blame?
Later, the story of the Life Care outbreak would be crushed by the ubiquitous metaphors of the pandemic. People would say that COVID-19 hit like a bomb, an earthquake, or a tsunami. They would say it spread like wildfire. But inside the facility, it felt more like a ghostly ghost. A nurse named Chelsey Earnest said that fighting COVID was like “chasing the devil.”
(Katie Engelhart / California Sunday)
‘We are living the news’: student journalists own the history of the university’s reopening
On college campuses across the country, journalism students tirelessly document reopening plans and COVID-19 outbreaks. A price is charged. “We are scared because not only is this news story we write about for other people to hear, but we also hear it ourselves for the first time when we write about it,” Brandon Standley, UNC Managing Editor The Daily Tar Heel, saying NPR.
(Elissa Nadworny and Lauren Migaki / NPR)
More than numbers
For the more than 24,775,245 people worldwide who have tested positive, may your road to recovery be smooth.
To the families and friends of the 837,908 people who have died around the world, 181,779 of those living in the United States, their loved ones have not been forgotten.
Stay safe, everyone.
[ad_2]
