Does it matter if people can catch COVID-19 twice?

One of the stories floating around is that people has reportedly tested positive a second time for COVID-19. This has caused some people to just conclude that we're screwed. Are we?

Probably not.

Firstly, even if we can catch it multiple times, it doesn't mean a vaccine would ineffective. And this is the simplest argument. Vaccines don't always train our bodies by using the exact same virus, or even the same approach. A vaccine could end up protecting better and for longer than the anti-bodies generated naturally. Or the opposite. 

The reality is, most exposure to an illness doesn't grant permanent immunity. The immune reaction is rarely so strong and retained so long. So, it was almost a given that people could catch COVID-19 again.

The next complicating factor is that everyone reacts differently. Especially to natural anti-body development. Right now, the evidence doesn't suggest that it is common, at least in the time frames we've seen so far, for people to be able to catch it twice. So, the few cases we've seen could be anomalies.

Beyond that, the next major hurdle is really that additional infections often produce more mild symptoms. So, the impact of the disease can decrease over time.

And, in the cases I read about, this appears to have been the case. The people who tested positive a second time were asymptomatic. It was simply because China was retesting people who had caught it the first time that they caught the re-infection. And, no one around these people appeared to have re-caught the disease either.

Scientifically speaking, we don't know yet what the typical immune response looks like. There is strong evidence of re-infection. But, virtually no evidence that this condition is as widespread as the initial virus. Which would lend odds to the notion that the average person does receive some level of immunity.

At the end of the day, more than likely, people will receive some level of immunity for a time after contracting and beating COVID-19. Should there be a vaccine, it would only be called so if it too offered high odds of prolonged protection for some time. And, with or without herd immunity or a vaccine, we will also develop treatments to reduce the threat posed by the virus.

And that should be seen as a positive. When you look at the numbers, COVID-19 only causes severe symptoms in rare cases, or in the elderly. If the virus can be managed with treatment, it could significantly reduce or even eliminate the primary threat of the virus. 

Right now, it is paranoia to claim that the existence of cases of reinfection means that everyone can catch it again in short order, or that we're doomed to just let it run its course.