One of the many unknowns about the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is how we might end up being unsusceptible to it. When you get contaminated with infections, in addition to other baddies like bacteria, your immune system fights back by producing proteins called antibodies. These stay for the long run, and your body is prepared to produce more of them if you enter into contact with the pathogen once again.
It’s how vaccines work: By presenting a dead or weakened variation of a virus to your body immune system, you deceive it into producing antibodies in response. Then if you enter into contact with the real virus, your body will be prepared.
Viruses vary widely in regards to the immune response they elicit. For instance, if you got chicken pox as a kid, you are likely to be immune to reinfection for the rest of your life. With whooping cough, immunity may last for up to 20 years, and for the H1N1 flu strain, as much as10 With the seasonal coronaviruses that cause the common cold, resistance fades after a few months, which is why you can pick up new infections year after ye