Recovered from the new coronavirus? Congratulations! It’s safe for you to go out again!  Or is it?

This is Stella Moon with the Loh Down on Science: Special Pandemic Edition.

In mid-April, South Korea reported some surprising results. Within a month of recovery, around two percent of those infected tested positive for the virus for the second time! These disappointed survivors had to return to quarantine. And their families were monitored for fourteen days.

Then. . . another SURPRISE! None of the families got sick again!

Wait…? So can we go out or not?

It depends…  on whether it’s a “Reactivation”... or “Reinfection.”

In a “reactivation,” hidden and inactive, remnants of the virus mount a second offensive! But no worries! Our body has special forces, called Antibodies!

Antibodies are proteins, which are building blocks of our body, produced in our blood. Their superpower to “neutralize” makes the attacking virus inactive. How? By looking at the antigen, the shape of the virus, antibodies bind with the virus. Our antibodies already know these antigens. Chance of winning: good. Infecting others? No.

In the case of a “reinfection” though, things are different. The virus army attacking us are new forces from outside. Reinfection is impossible if we still had the antibodies. But, the body stopped producing the antibodies, because it thought the battle was over. We’re no longer immune! Chance of winning? Unknown. Infecting others? Probably!

What about their families? Despite being very close to each other, none of them caught Covid for the second time! YAY! But WHY?

It could be a virus reactivation, rather than a reinfection. Still confused? Let’s look at a well-known example of virus reactivation: chickenpox.

We’ve all heard of YOCO, “You only get chickenpox once”. But the virus causing chickenpox can reactivate, and cause shingles. Shingles and chickenpox have different symptoms, and importantly shingles are not contagious. Why? Reactivation is possible, but reinfection? Impossible!

Let’s be careful though. There are many unanswered questions about Covid.

You want to go back to work, but don’t have the antibody army? Well, how about BTS ARMY instead?

Written and reported by Stella Moon

References

Can You Be Re-Infected After Recovering From Coronavirus? Here's What We Know About COVID-19 Immunity.

Chickenpox versus Shingles -- What’s the Difference?

Tests in recovered patients found false positives, not reinfections, experts say