New Study May Tell Us Why Some People Fight Off COVID-19 Better
One of the most puzzling parts of the COVID-19 pandemic is that some people have mild symptoms, while others are killed by the disease. Scientists have been trying to figure out why that happens. Well, Dr. Fauci and other experts may have found a potential reason. There is evidence that people who have been exposed in recent years to the common coronavirus may have a stronger immune responses to the novel coronavirus.
COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus. That mean's it's a new virus that people's immune system hasn't had to fight off before. But, there is recent findings that people who have fought off the common coronavirus (which is basically a common cold), may have T cell response to COVID-19. T Cells are the second line of defense after antibodies in our immune system. With the people in the study, the T cells were able to recognize COVID-19 and begin attacking the virus. Yahoo news shares more about this and the science behind it. Basically some people's immune systems that have been exposed to the common coronavirus had a memory to fight the novel coronavirus COVID-19. They go on to say that it could be the difference in the elderly population on who fights off the illness better. If someone hadn't been exposed to the common coronavirus in decades, their body likely wouldn't mount the same immune responses as someone who just recently fought off the common coronavirus.
Early in the pandemic a lot of people claimed that they already had COVID-19 and just didn't know it. It was a particularly rough cold season locally in The Northland. I know everyone in our household got a particularly bad common cold that lasted for a month. I really doubt it was COVID-19, but I could be hopeful that the fact we've fought off common colds could be a good sign for our immune systems as the kids head to school this fall.
Now is not the time to let our guard up against this deadly virus. Just because some people can fight it off relatively easy, doesn't mean that it can't take the live of a loved one you know. More studies and information is the science we need to try to get back to a normal way of live eventually.