Why are some people immune?

[user1488819536]

My toddler and I both caught covid from my work colleague. My husband tested negative. He then re tested at the end of isolation and he was still negative ( 2 weeks later)
We shared the house, rooms, car etc.
Does anyone know why some people dont get it?

If I remember correctly, some people have immunity if they have had similar coronaviruses (colds) in the past. But I am not too sure.

Maybe he has had it before and assymptomatic?? Both myself and Dp have covid but dd (so far) is not showing any symptoms

For most illnesses there seems to be a certain % of people who just don't catch it.
I'm not sure why but I guess it helps protect the human race.

Or maybe rather than your dh being immune, you and your toddler weren't really shedding much virus? Or had less contact with him when you were at your most infectious (thought to be just before getting symptoms).

I’m completely immune to chickenpox it seems

However have raging psoriasis, also never ever Ill - can’t decide if I would die or not contract it at all.

Nobody seems to be able to tell me!

I’ve definitely got wonky genes and a highly reactive immune system

BSG?

I am surprised that I haven’t managed to catch it at some point, as I haven’t been keeping myself on house arrest. Don’t get me wrong, I have been following lockdown guidelines but I still work full time.

Lived with, had sex with and kissed DP when he was positive. Didn’t catch it. Work in A&E, haven’t caught it. Antibody test was negative.

I hardly ever get sick though. Haven’t had a cold in around 5 years, maybe 2 stomach bugs my whole life. Only health issue was raging tonsillitis repeatedly when I was a child. Had them out at 16.

Scientists are still studying this. There does seem to be a genetic factor, connected to neanderthal ancestry. www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/12/neanderthal-gene-found-many-people-may-open-cells-coronavirus-and-increase-covid-19

My son had it, the other four of us in the house didn't catch it (all tested). He's only three so I was wiping his bum, brushing his teeth and cosleeping, no idea how we didn't catch it!

My partners sister is an ICU nurse, hasn't had it as far as she knows- antibody negative etc, random swabs negative, no time off work. Despite very close and extended contact with confirmed cases.
shrug

Some people just are immune to random things , my sil had never had chickenpox she's 41...she didnt catch it in childhood or catch it from her kids when they had it.
During the great plague in 1665 there were even some people then that seemed to be immune. Even in those very close unsanitary conditions

Ds2 has lived in a house full of coronavirus not once but twice. Never got ill, not so much as a single cough. Assume he must have a superior immune system and has had it asymptomatically.

I was proper coughed on and breathed on by a few covid patients who refused to wear masks (older/confused) and I didnt catch it either... very strange. The PPE is garbage - that shitty little mask everyone wears at shops, the apron that covers your belly and gloves upto my wrists so it was all over my face and uniform... I do spray myself with an amazing essential oil spray though and think thats helped for sure as its antibac oils in it x

@DontStopThinkingAboutTomorrow they have full PPE and follow vigorous hygiene procedures though. Yes, that doesn’t provide immunity but massively decreases the risk of transmission, it’s not they’re not going in bare whilst being exposed to COVID patients. My sister is an icu nurse who worked on the COVID ward in a hotspot and no one in her department caught it. Likewise with my bf who’s a paramedic

We've had flu, norovirus and all sorts of bugs rip through the house and at worst I've felt a bit bleurgh.

It's ironic that viruses barely seem to touch me (apart from the common cold!) because some foods can lock me in the bathroom all day.

I'm surprised I havent had it yet , I catch everything. When ds was at nursery I had everything he did .
If someone sneezes 3 doors down I'll have it the next day for sure !

@ThisShitDontMatter

I was proper coughed on and breathed on by a few covid patients who refused to wear masks (older/confused) and I didnt catch it either... very strange. The PPE is garbage - that shitty little mask everyone wears at shops, the apron that covers your belly and gloves upto my wrists so it was all over my face and uniform... I do spray myself with an amazing essential oil spray though and think thats helped for sure as its antibac oils in it x

You're a nurse and you think the anti-bacterial properties you attribute to essential oils protect you from covid?

Vitamin D levels are likely to be a main factor. Also, other nutrients such as zinc. Sugar and alcohol can be antagonistic to vitamin D, as vit D goes through a metabolic conversion in the liver, so you need good liver function for this.
Other lifestyle factors such as stress and sleep.
Cross immunity from other coronaviruses - the nasty thing going around last Nov - Feb may have been another coronavirus rather than covid being around earlier than thought.
Other vaccines such as MMR & TB seem to give partial protection according to some studies.
Other pharmaceutical drugs for conditions like lupus and scabies may act as a prophylaxis for covid if taken recently and have been touted as potential treatments and are undergoing some clinical trials.

Interesting about the nasty virus last autumn. I was very ill with some random COVID like symptoms last October. Been exposed to close cases that tested positive a few times but not had so much as a sniffle since then. I do think the awful virus I had then gave some immunity. Anecdotal I guess.

The thinking is that recent coronaviruses have given some of the population immunity.

It's clear that some % of the population are immune to it, or at least, at the point they encounter that particular variant they are (if it then mutates more dramatically perhaps not?) I work at a uni and in each household some students got it, but others didn't despite living and sharing living spaces and so on.

There is some genetic variance linked to who gets it severely so that might explain why some people get so sick, go to hospital and even die, whereas others have a very mild infection or even are asymptomatic.

Even in HIV a small proportion of the population seem to have inbuilt immunity, I know someone who was exposed unknowingly so many times but didn't get it. Scientists then studied these few super-resistors and again theorized that this is probably genetic.

I really don’t want to speak too soon but I’ve been a close contact on 2 occasions to 2 separate positive cases and I’m shocked I didn’t get it. Either I’m somehow immune or just managed to avoid the virus droplets somehow lol. At the time of exposure I had extremely low vitamin d levels too. Mind you this was last month and then back in July so wouldn’t have been the mutated highly infectious strain. I’m dreaded that when it spreads to the north east.

Not people, but bats 🦇 ... there must be something really interesting immunologically going on with them. They are HUGE reservoirs of a massive number of coronaviruses, yet they live in dark conditions such as caves and hollow trees and only come out at dusk, so they must have really low vitamin D levels due to minimal exposure to sunlight (or some way to manufacture it completely intrinsically). They must have evolved some immunological method to live harmoniously with such a heavy coronavirus virome without causing significant pathology. Interesting that bats and "dark places" like thick forests and caves have always been taboo/dangerous in human folklore and myth 🤔

@PickAChew

Well, quite!

@PickAChew

Why can that not help? Its like why do you wash/eat healthy/clean your home... because it helps keep you healthy... people gel hands dont they... why cant some pils with antibac purposes help maybe?