The State Department of Health implored those who have had COVID to get their COVID vaccines as soon as they are eligible.
State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter said being infected once is no guarantee that you can’t catch the bug once again.
“We absolutely are seeing some people get infected a second time and I have actually now clinically seen people get infected a third time,” said Kanter.
Kanter said there’s some evidence that those who have been infected keep a baseline level of protection, but it’s unlikely it’s nearly as comprehensive as getting a vaccine.
“It very likely provides some degree of incomplete protection for some amount of time thereafter but to really specify how much protection and how long that lasts the jury is really still out,” said Kanter.
There’s no hard evidence that those infected at the beginning of the pandemic still have an adequate level of antibodies to fight off an infection now. Kanter said that duration is likely different from person to person.
“You likely have some degree of protection following a natural infection for about 90 days, but it is not all or nothing, it doesn’t mean at 91 days it all goes away,” said Kanter.
Comments