A recent study has revealed that people who have been previously infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), are less likely to get reinfected by the virus, at least for the next few months. The finding explains why reinfection is a relatively rare phenomenon, thereby, indicating significant public health implications. It also includes decisions related to returning to workplaces, school attendance, the prioritization of vaccine distribution, and other activities.
For this study, the researchers had partnered with two health care data analytics companies and five commercial laboratories. According to the results, individuals who have already suffered COVID-19 are at lower risk of getting infected again. Their bodies appear to have built stronger immunity against the virus, thus protecting them from getting reinfected.
The team had obtained the antibody test results from nearly 3 million people who were tested for the SARS-CoV-2 antibody between 1st January 2020 to 23rd August 2020. Nearly 12% of these tests were antibody positive, most of the remaining tests were negative, and less than 1% were inconclusive.
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Raymond A. Harvey, Jeremy A. Rassen, Carly A. Kabelac, Wendy Turenne, Sandy Leonard, Reyna Klesh, William A. Meyer, Harvey W. Kaufman, Steve Anderson, Oren Cohen, Valentina I. Petkov, Kathy A. Cronin, Alison L. Van Dyke, Douglas R. Lowy, Norman E. Sharpless, Lynne T. Penberthy. Association of SARS-CoV-2 Seropositive Antibody Test With Risk of Future Infection. JAMA Internal Medicine, 2021; DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.0366 1 Harvey RA, Rassen JA, Kabelac CA, et al. Association of SARS-CoV-2 Seropositive Antibody Test With Risk of Future Infection. JAMA Intern Med. Published online February 24, 2021. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.0366