Most Americans Have Had COVID-19. That Doesn ’t Mean They Won’t Get It Again

Odds are, you’ve had COVID-19—whether you know it or not. Almost 60% of people in the U.S. have antibodies in their blood that suggest they’ve been infected by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, according to new estimates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But that doesn’t mean 60% of people in the U.S. are immune to COVID-19. “We know that is not what this means. Reinfection happens,” said Dr. Kristie Clarke, co-lead for the CDC’s COVID-19 Epidemiology and Surveillance Taskforce Seroprevalence Team, during a press briefing on April 26. “Protection from vaccination and protection from previous infections does wane over time.” [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Even two years and millions of infections into the pandemic, researchers are still learning about immunity to the virus, and how long you can expect to remain disease-free after a shot or illness. Here’s what the latest science says about immunity to COVID-19. If I already had COVID-19, will I get it again? Your immune system mounts a few different defenses against SARS-CoV-2. White blood cells called B cells produce antibody proteins, which help fight off the invader. Meanwhile, T cells, another type of white blood cell, can kill off cells that have been taken over by the virus. A study from U.K. researchers published in the New England Journal of Medicine in March found that infection-related immunity stays strong fo...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 healthscienceclimate Source Type: news