
World’s first COVID19 reinfected patient - dsr12
https://twitter.com/cwylilian/status/1297830744509698050
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magneticnorth
From other news coverage: This is the first confirmed reinfection and it was
confirmed as a distinct second infection using genetic sequencing;
specifically this patient's second infection is a strain that was circulating
in Europe this summer (where the patient caught it), and provably different
from the patient's first infection, caught in Hong Kong months ago.

This level of proof suggests that there have likely been other reinfections -
reinfections of the same strain would be difficult to differentiate from
shedding of dead virus, for example.

However, I think there's no understanding yet of how likely reinfection really
is; I believe it seems rare so far, but I don't know if there's really enough
spread of the disease yet to tell.

Also interesting: both of this patient's infections were mild, with the second
time being completely asymptomatic.

Another good source with a few more details:
[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/24/world/covid-19-coronaviru...](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/24/world/covid-19-coronavirus.html)

~~~
bart_spoon
This news could have some concerning implications, but there are also still
some plausible, less gloomy scenarios. Some of the details from the Times
article worth noting: the man's symptoms during the initial infection were
mild, and in the most recent case, he has had no symptoms. This is notable
because there have been several conflicting studies measuring the potential
immune response of low severity Covid19 infections, with some showing that
antibody and T-cell responses are strong, and others showing that they are
weak. This means that potentially, mild cases of Covid will not produce long-
lasting protective immunity for some.

Additionally, the fact that he fails to show symptoms currently could be an
indication that while immunity may not completely prevent reinfection, it may
reduce severity. It's been hypothesized that many diseases, including the flu
and the common cold, were more deadly upon their initial introduction to the
population and, over time, as people gained stronger immune responses from
exposure, became less lethal. Additionally, flu vaccines, even if they don't
prevent the flu completely, can reduce the severity of the illness. Its
possible that this is evidence that, even if it is not possible to completely
immunize the population against Covid19, widespread vaccination and infection
will lead to it may simply become another endemic, relatively low-severity
disease along with the common cold/flu/etc.

Of course, this is all based on literally a single patient, so at this point
anything is still possible.

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LandR
1 known case from ~25m to me seems like reinfection is incredibly rare and not
really something to worry about?

Or am I way off the mark here?

~~~
gnusty_gnurc
Nah - people are going to run with this cause they're assuming the least
generous and most panic-inducing interpretation of any development.

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sixQuarks
How do we know this is the first reinfected? There’s been many reports of
people testing negative several times after first getting it, then getting the
virus again later

~~~
platz
this is the first proven reinfection with genetic sequencing of different
strains of the virus in the same individual.

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ArkVark
Is there any word on whether this patient is actually symptomatic? How does
their re-infection compare to the first?

~~~
bart_spoon
According to the NY Times[0], the patient was mildly symptomatic during their
first infection, and asymptomatic currently during their second infection.

[0]
[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/24/world/covid-19-coronaviru...](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/24/world/covid-19-coronavirus.html)

------
barbacoa
There are reports that vaccines may only be somewhat effective and even when
effective confer immunity for mere months. Now we are hearing that this virus
can reinfect people like the coming cold.

What if we can never rid the world of covid? At what point do we just return
to our lives the way it was before all this and accept this super dangerous
version of the flu as part of our new world?

~~~
legerdemain
I'm baffled how "just return to our lives" shows up as a foregone conclusion
in the way many people think about this disease.

The most realistic path to managing COVID is herd immunity. -> Just return to
our lives.

We may never achieve COVID herd immunity. We'll just keep getting it over and
over. -> Just return to our lives.

Sure, let's imagine a world where we accept widespread and repeated COVID
infection as a presence in the average person's life. That means we should
immediately, in every organized society, start planning for:

\- Significant growth in the numbers of the long-term disabled: Planning
living environments for a population with chronic and lifelong respiratory
damage. Many of us will be unable to run, distances we are expected to be able
to reasonably cross on foot will shrink, and a lot fewer of us will be able to
do manual labor such as construction or do jobs that require prolonged
standing.

\- Planning for a vastly reduced employment, either because entire segments of
the economy are no longer in demand, or because a lot fewer of us can take on
certain jobs because of disability.

\- Significantly reduced average lifespans: changes to policies around
retirement age, senior housing, life and health insurance policies, etc.

I think saying "just return to our lives" obligates someone to describe what
we should start doing to be able to live the kind of lives we will return to!

~~~
barbacoa
I think it's interesting how freaked out people get when they realize how
powerless we can be as a species even with all our technology.

I'm baffled that "flatten the curve" is now "lock down until further notice".

~~~
rumanator
If you want to understanf how "flatten the curve" turns into "lock down until
further notice" you first need to take into consideration the fact that a)
this phenomenon only happens in free democratic countries where the people
have a say in picking their government, b) covid19 infection rates and deaths
is used extensively by populist opposition parties to stir discontent torwards
incumbent parties in particular but democratic regimes in general.

