ASK JAMES: Can recovered patients get coronavirus again?
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) – Researchers across the country are working with samples from recovered patients to learn more about how the virus changes the body.
Dr. Kevin Dishman is the chief medical officer at Stormont Vail Health in Topeka. Along with working on a vaccine, Dishman said researchers are looking to see if the antibodies our body develops while we are sick can give us immunity from coronavirus.
“When you get the virus, your body responds to that by making antibodies,” Dishman said. “If those antibodies persist in your body, then immunity could be assumed.”
Still, Dishman said that would be a big assumption. He said there are doctors that believe recovered patients have immunity, but they do not know how long that immunity can last.
Dishman said this immunity could last for as little as six months up to 50 years or more. He said more research needs to be done.
This story is part of a new weekly “Ask James” segment. Each Friday, KSNT News plans to answer viewer questions about the virus, the response to the pandemic, and everything in between. Viewers can send their questions to the James Ryan KSNT Facebook Page.
This question was from Brenda who asked “If you have had coronavirus, can you get it again?”