Experts: Possibility of re-infection low, but cannot be ruled out

NEW DELHI: With little information surfacing on COVID19, medical experts are trying to find whether a recovered patient can catch the virus twice. There are various theories on the matter and even though health officials have not taken a strong stance on it, few cases of recovered patients getting infected again have come up.

At a local hospital in Delhi, a doctor confirmed that his patient suffering from cancer had tested positive after recovering from coronavirus. However, the possibility of something like this happening is bleak according to Dr Rajesh Kumar Gupta, Additional Director, Pulomnology and critical care at Fortis Hospital.

Dr Gupta is a corona warrior and is heading the COVID-19 ward at the hospital. Speaking to Millennium Post, the doctor said, “As of now, there have been no reports of re-infection in my eyes and in my opinion is just a speculation. Personally, with more than three and a half months into the infection, I have not seen anyone getting infected twice.”

He added that a recovered COVID-19 patient develops a strong immunity through antibodies which saves the person and makes it difficult to catch the infection again. “But that does not mean they can go around without a mask. All precautions have to be followed,” said Dr Gupta.

Studies suggest it takes around 10 days for the body to start generating COVID-19 antibodies and often, the sickest patients develop the strongest immune response. According to medical experts, if the adaptive immune response is powerful enough, then it could leave a lasting memory of the infection that will give protection in the future.

It is not known if people who have only mild symptoms, or none at all, will develop a sufficient adaptive immune response. However, a few cases of patients getting infected twice have emerged sending medical experts scrambling for answers and data. “The thing about COVID is that it is unpredictable and though there might not be a number of cases, we can still not say anything for sure,” said a doctor working with a government hospital in Delhi.

Dr Gupta meanwhile, pointed out that healthcare workers who are in close proximity to COVID-19 patients might have a chance of getting infected again, but a strong immunity might still fight it. Many studies regarding the same are still going on across the globe.