Having COVID-19 may not make you immune to getting it again. During Wednesday’s briefing, State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box said that recent studies indicate that COVID-19 is like some other coronavirus illnesses, when it comes to immunity.
“The coronavirus people get, they develop some brief immunity, the ability to fight that virus off but, unfortunately, that immunity doesn’t stay around, and that’s why we keep getting the common cold over and over again,” Box explained. “And that’s what these recent studies have indicated, is that even individuals that do develop immunity, develop antibodies, unfortunately, those antibodies, in many cases, are disappearing very quickly.”
That may make it impossible to develop “herd immunity,” no matter how many people are exposed.
Box said researchers are also trying to learn more about how exactly the coronavirus spreads. “There’s a question out there about is this just respiratory droplets, or does this virus actually hand in the air for a certain period of time? And there are researchers that are pushing WHO and CDC very hard to call this an airborne disease,” Box said.
Either way, Box said that masks are the answer.
