General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: My patient caught Covid-19 twice. So long to herd immunity hopes. [View all]Orangepeel
(13,982 posts)"It is possible, but unlikely, that my patient had a single infection that lasted three months. Some Covid-19 patients (now dubbed long haulers) do appear to suffer persistent infections and symptoms.
My patient, however, cleared his infection he had two negative PCR tests after his first infection and felt healthy for nearly six weeks.
I believe it is far more likely that my patient fully recovered from his first infection, then caught Covid-19 a second time after being exposed to a young adult family member with the virus. He was unable to get an antibody test after his first infection, so we do not know whether his immune system mounted an effective antibody response or not.
Regardless, the limited research so far on recovered Covid-19 patients shows that not all patients develop antibodies after infection. Some patients, and particularly those who never develop symptoms, mount an antibody response immediately after infection only to have it wane quickly afterward an issue of increasing scientific concern."