JURY STILL OUT AMONG RESEARCHERS ON COVID-19 RETRANSMISSION

Research is still being done on whether people can get COVID-19 twice and Dr. Rachael Lee from the UAB Hospital spoke on Wednesday, May 27, on why that is a possibility.

Researchers and public health authorities still do not know how the human immune system responds to SARS-COV-2 and whether or not people develop a long-term immunity after recovering from it the first time.

Lee said it’s possible those who think they’ve contracted the virus twice instead experienced a lapse in symptoms.

“So what we have seen is I’ve heard maybe of one or two cases where someone has definitely had COVID-19 based on symptoms and then maybe a couple of weeks later developed kind of a resurgence of some of those symptoms and are retested as positive,” Lee said.

Researchers and public health authorities don’t yet know how the immune system reacts to the virus or how long-term immunity is developed.

In the meantime, experts suggest people continue taking preventative measures such as physical distancing and self-quarantining when necessary.