As per a study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases Journal? on Tuesday, it is possible for a person to get infected with COVID-19 more than once and that a COVID-19 infection does not guarantee future immunity. The study is based on the first case of COVID-19 reinfection in United States, which is one of the worst hit countries by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The study takes into consideration the case of a 25-year-old Neveda man, who got infected with two distinct variants of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), within a 48-day time frame. In this particular case, the second infection was more severe than first and the patient had to be hospitalized with oxygen support. Apart from the case from United States, the paper also noted four other cases from: Belgium, Netherlands, Hong Kong and Ecuador. 

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Mark Pandori, the lead author of the study said: The possibility of reinfections could have significant implications for our understanding of Covid-19 immunity, especially in the absence of an effective vaccine. Pandori added: We need more research to understand how long immunity may last for people exposed to SARS-CoV-2 and why some of these second infections, while rare, are presenting as more severe.”