Uh Oh – Reinfection?

Angie SzumlinskiStudies

In an article published in Medscape on October 12, 2020, there have been two confirmed cases of COVID-19 reinfections in the United States. A 25-year-old man from Nevada and a 42-year-old man in Virginia experienced second bouts of COVID-19 about 2 months after they tested positive the first time. Gene tests show both men had two slightly different strains of the virus, suggesting that they caught the infection twice.

Researchers say these are the first documented cases of COVID-19 reinfection in the U.S. About two dozen other cases of COVID-19 reinfection have been reported around the globe and a third U.S. case in a 60-year-old in Washington has been reported but hasn’t yet been peer-reviewed. Immunologists haven’t been too concerned about these reinfections because most second infections have been milder than the first, indicating that the immune system is doing its job and fighting off the virus when it is recognized a second time. Unlike most of those cases, however, the men in Reno, NV, and Virginia, and a 46-year-old man in Ecuador, had more severe symptoms during their second infections, potentially complicating the development and deployment of effective vaccines.

We have made considerable headway in preventing the spread of infection in our centers however we need to stay the course, stay informed, read everything we can get our hands on and then wash our hands! Click the link below to read the entire Medscape article.

Stay well, stay safe and stay tuned!