Even though we are entering our third pandemic winter, questions still come up about COVID, from wanting to know how long natural immunity to the virus lasts to how to get over a COVID infection faster.
, infectious disease expert and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, agrees, telling Yahoo Life, that these at-home tests are “very accurate” at determining if contagious amounts of COVID are present in an individual. “Sometimes, they might be negative early in an illness, and a repeat test may be indicated a day or two later,” he says.
Even though antibodies — whether from a natural infection or vaccines — wane over time, “for most people under the age of 60, most of their antibodies will remain pretty good for a while,” Malvestutto says. He also points out that antibodies are just one part of the immune system. There are also memory T cells, and “when they get exposed to the antigen of the SARS-CoV-2, it stimulates the immune system to react.
Wear a high-quality mask if you have to be around others at home or in public places, and avoid travel and places where you can’t wear a mask. If you test negative, you can end your isolation, according to the CDC.Expect to hold off on kissing for a while after a COVID infection. “Since the virus can be shed in respiratory and oral secretions for a couple of weeks after infection, it’s probably best to avoid ‘deep kissing’ for a few weeks,” says Winslow.
Resting, even when you start to feel better, is also key. “Even though your worst symptoms may be gone, you may be quite fatigued,” Mavestutto says. “Don’t think you’ll go back to 100% right away.” He adds: “Listen to your body. Take your time to really recover.”The most common symptoms of acute COVID include fever, chills, muscle aches, sore throat, cough and congestion, notes Kulkarni.
Although Malvestutto says that people with long COVID aren’t shedding the virus anymore, they’re still experiencing “different,” including neurological ones, such as difficulty focusing and memory issues, dizziness, headaches, shortness of breath or joint and muscle pain. “Others feel very tired,” he says. “Or have an intermittent cough that just doesn’t go away.”