"A person can be infected with COVID-19 up to 8 times"? Experts: There is no basis for this! Symptoms of reinfection are generally mild

"No matter how healthy or strong a person is, he can only be infected with the new coronavirus eight times at most. The ninth time he will die." This statement has sparked discussion recently, and related terms have been searched for at the top on social platforms.

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According to the People's Daily Health Client, many experts said that this statement has no scientific basis.

Experts: Online rumors have no scientific basis

Li Yongtao, deputy chief physician of the National Center for Infectious Diseases, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, told reporters that at present, for normal people without underlying diseases, the statement that "one can only be infected up to 8 times" is unscientific, and the symptoms after reinfection are generally mild, so there is no need to worry too much.

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Zhao Wei, director of the Biosafety Research Center of the School of Public Health at Southern Medical University, said that although there is no definitive conclusion on how many times a person can be infected, the possibility of a person being repeatedly infected with the new coronavirus does exist. Current observational studies have shown that the symptoms after reinfection will become milder and milder . On the one hand, this is because the body develops immunity to the pathogen after the first infection. "Even if our specific immunity level against this pathogen gradually decreases over time, after reinfection, the body will quickly increase this immunity level through recall reaction and kill the pathogens in the body. Therefore, the symptoms will not become more severe after repeated infection."

"On the other hand, during the process of spreading, pathogens themselves usually mutate in the direction of gradually weakening pathogenicity and gradually increasing infectious ability," said Zhao Wei.

Zhao Wei suggested that if people are really worried about repeated infections, people over 60 and those with underlying diseases can get the vaccine and booster shot. Secondly, when going to crowded places, especially hospitals, try to wear a mask throughout the trip and wash your hands and disinfect them in time after returning home.

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Comprehensive sources: People's Daily Health Client, People's Daily Official Weibo, etc.