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In this immunology explainer, I noted that some anecdotal accounts of COVID-19 reinfections exist, but to confirm them, you'd need to sequence the genes of the virus from both infections and show they were subtly different.

theatlantic.com/health/archive…
A HK team has apparently done that. If true, this would be the first *confirmed* case of reinfection. (Note: there's a press release, and someone has posted screengrabs of parts of the paper, but the whole thing isn't online 😡)

BUT...

As I wrote, it's not surprising/worrying if reinfections *can happen*. More important Qs are:

- How common are they? (Not addressed in this study)
- Is the 2nd time more/less severe than the 1st? (2nd infection was asymptomatic here, but that's 1 case.)

theatlantic.com/health/archive…
Here's a good thread by @angie_rasmussen

I share her annoyance that this was PR'd w/o the full paper being readily available.
And I maintain that it's more valuable to learn how to think about COVID immunology in general than to pick apart any one study. This should help: theatlantic.com/health/archive…
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Ed Yong
@edyong209
A few COVID-19 long-haulers told me they too disbelieved folks with ME/CFS and similar illnesses until they experienced something similar firsthand—and now deeply regret their previous skepticism. (Some folks w/ ME/CFS have said the same.) 1/

theatlantic.com/health/archive…
I asked David Putrino, who runs a Mt Sinai program, why he believes long-haulers when so many physicians do not. This is what he said. 2/

theatlantic.com/health/archive…
After my 1st long-hauler piece, I got an email asking if I have ME/CFS or similar—fwiw I don’t—on the assumption that ppl who don’t have these illnesses rarely write about them. That felt like a searing indictment. I think about it a lot. 3/

theatlantic.com/health/archive…
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Ed Yong
@edyong209
🚨Here’s my new story about long-haulers who’ve had COVID-19 for months. I first wrote about them in early June, and much has changed since then. Notably, many are still sick. For some, it’s been 5+ months of debilitating symptoms. #LongCovid 1/ theatlantic.com/health/archive…
Some changes are positive. There’s more awareness of long-haulers & more acceptance from docs. These changes were mostly driven *by long-haulers* who fought for recognition, led their own research, & supported each other, all while being very sick. 2/ theatlantic.com/health/archive…
But early pandemic mistakes are STILL costing long-haulers dearly. Testing screw-ups in Feb/Mar meant many never got tested; in Aug, that means many are still being gaslit, & can’t get into post-covid clinics. (What about antibody tests? Read the piece) 3/ theatlantic.com/health/archive…
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Ed Yong
@edyong209
I’m really grateful to everyone who read the big new cover story this week. If you’ve liked my work, perhaps you’ll also like the work that I like. Here are some great pandemic-related pieces from the last month, from writers whose work I respect.
Here’s a critical vaccine reality check from @sarahzhang, who is surely one of the most formidable science writers working today. Every piece is beautifully explained and meticulously researched. This one is really important. theatlantic.com/health/archive…
A stunning investigative work by @katherineeban into Jared Kushner’s shadow taskforce and its secret, shelved testing plan. It’s perhaps the closest we have to an actual disproval of Hanlon’s razor. vanityfair.com/news/2020/07/h…
Read 17 tweets

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