Question: My daughter is considering attending Thanksgiving at her brother’s home where he and his wife will be entertaining several guests. Apparently, everyone attending except my daughter has already had covid. I am very concerned about her going, especially given that she has Sjogrens. What is the most recent data on reinfection? Can individuals still be able to transmit covid-19 even though they have already had it?

Answer: There’s still a lot about COVID-19 that we don’t know, including how long a person’s immunity to SARS-CoV-2 remains after infection and whether such immunity varies by disease severity or individual background characteristics (like age or sex).  We have solid evidence that reinfection can occur (see Q&A of 10/14), however reinfection still seems relatively rare.  That said, it’s still difficult to know how rare or common reinfection is because it is really difficult to measure.  Science published an article just three days ago, “More people are getting COVID-19 twice, suggesting immunity wanes quickly in some,” which does a nice job synthesizing the current evidence on lasting immunity, reinfection, and ongoing concerns.  If a person were reinfected, there’s no reason to believe that they would not be contagious.  At this point in our knowledge and experience, no one gets a “pass” to forego mask wearing, social distancing, hand washing, avoiding crowds, etc.– even those who have already recovered from the coronavirus (see CDC guidance on reinfection).