There have been many rumors of people getting re-infected with Covid-19. However, a 33-year-old man, working in the IT sector living in Hong Kong is now the first officially documented case of coronavirus reinfection. 

He initially tested positive for Covid–19 in March 2020. In March, the man had a fever and a cough amongst other symptoms, and he made a full recovery by mid-April. Four months later he was reinfected after a trip overseas to Spain via the UK, this time however he is asymptomatic.

Following the news of reinfection, physicians thought he was a persistent carrier of the virus. This led researchers to study the genome of both his infections through RNA sequencing and were able to show that both virus strains were different, suggesting he had been reinfected. The man's reinfection suggests that the level of immunity after infection may be lower than many had hoped, or may decline over time, or may even offer partial immune protection.

What does this show us?

The fact that reinfection is possible shows that the concept of herd immunity which a lot of countries including the UK have been using is null. 

This concept presumes that those who recover from the virus are unlikely to be reinfected. While the information on reinfection is limited and we do not have data showing how prevalent the rates of reinfection can be, we know that immunity against the virus is not maintained long term. 

As mentioned, upon reinfection the man showed no symptoms which suggest that his immune system has protected him better from the disease the second time around, but did not prevent reinfection. This shows that our only way to efficiently combat the virus is a vaccine similar to the influenza vaccine that is re-administered every year.  Experts in the field of immunology offered a positive interpretation of this case. "This is a textbook example of how immunity should work," Akiko Iwasaki, an immunology expert at Yale University, tweeted on Monday, referring to the man's lack of symptoms.

The man had no detectable antibodies when he first tested positive for the second time however, he developed them afterward. This is encouraging news. However, there are no clear guidelines about developed immunity as of yet and researchers will need to keep tracking cases and comparing them to have a better idea of how this is working. Indications are showing that we might need to keep living with Covid–19 as we do with the common cold which is another infection caused by a coronavirus that changes every year even if we do have a degree of acquired immunity we see plenty of cases of the common cold every year.

The fact that re-infection is possible continues to prove that the only safe and effective way to combat this pandemic is through the development of a vaccine. The vaccine will probably not offer lifelong protection and may need to be administered twice a year to supplement natural immunity.

What needs to be done?

The fact that re-infection is possible continues to prove that the only safe and effective way to combat this pandemic is through the development of a vaccine. The vaccine will probably not offer lifelong protection and may need to be administered twice a year to supplement natural immunity.

We definitely need to see more cases studied to have a better idea of the degree of immunity achieved following reinfection by the virus. These cases will be crucial to understand how widespread reinfection might be and whether subsequent infections carry as many risks as the first infection.

The Hong Kong study's authors recommend that those who have recovered from the coronavirus continue to comply with social distancing and other protocols, such as wearing a mask, washing their hands frequently and cleaning out groceries before bringing them into the house.

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