3 ms·
Does this suggest that immunity against some ordinary old pre-2019 coronaviruses also applies against the current strains?
by qwerty456127 6y ago
Does this suggest that immunity against some ordinary old pre-2019 coronaviruses also applies against the current strains?
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- TylerE 6y agoNo. Coronavirus is a generic term for a type of virus. For example, a few of the more common strains of the common cold, representing perhaps 15% of cases, are coronavirus - but they have no real relation to _the_ coronavirus, as term is typically used.
- qwerty456127 6y agoThat's what I meant.
- nradov 6y agoIt depends what you mean by real relation. Both OC43 and HKU1 are betacoronaviruses, in the same genera as SARS-CoV-2. So they're genetically very similar, but there's no reliable evidence of significant cross immunity.
- bpodgursky 6y agoThere is some anecdotal evidence of prior immunity, but is tangental to this development.
- zaroth 6y agoThere is clearly something that prevents certain people (particularly kids) from contracting COVID to the point where they will not test PCR positive even if they are heavily exposed and have not had it before. I know several families in my town who have gotten COVID. All of these families had 2 or more kids and in 3 of the families there was at least one kid who never had any symptoms and never tested positive despite being PCR tested repeatedly. It’s theorized that there is some cross-immunity that some people have from other coronaviruses.