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Dr. Bobsky
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: UK's most densely packed city. It's not London...
 
2020-03-24, 11:36

Quote:
Originally Posted by turtle View Post
So one question that I know I can google but haven't bothered, is this something that once you have it you're immune or at least immune this strain of it? I'm just wondering and figure if I was there was bound to be someone on here who knows something more about it than me.
Unfortunately, while immunity can be developed against the strain you're infected with, and partial immunity against others, this immunity is often relatively short lived -- less than a year -- for unknown reasons in previously known coronaviruses (why you can get a coronavirus caused cold over and over again). The lack of long term immunity may have to do with how the immune system is responding to the viruses, and how the virus attacks that process -- related virus can and do kill T-cells, limiting the efficient development of long-term immunity. Slow mutation of the virus's exterior epitopes also provide routes for the virus to reinfect.

We're going to be with this virus forever, the question is whether it is a healthy forever or a sick forever...
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