Husband didn't get covid!!

[Riv12345]

Hi guys

I tested positive for covid just after Christmas.
Husband had to self isolate with me obviously.
I wasn't too bad to be honest.
I stayed downstairs with him etc
He had no symptoms.
A couple of weeks ago he kept saying I reacon I have had it as I was near you etc
He decided to pay for an antibody test £69 from a well know pharmacy.

It came back negative for antibodies.
He can not believe it.
Any suggestions?

That doesn't mean he hasn't had it. My brother tested positive for covid, but when he had the antibody test it was negative.

My (then), 82 year old dad never got it despite being sole carer to my mum when she had it.

Only 30-40% of people who share a home with someone infected with the old variant gets it.

My BIL tested positive in November, so DSis had to isolate with him - also had to have two negative tests before she was allowed back to work, as she’s a nurse.

She had her first jab in January - and then tested positive in their routine weekly test 2 weeks later. A colleague she had been working with tested positive as well - both in PPE. My only suggestion is that BIL had the original strain while DSis and her colleague got a more transmissible one. But it’s all guesswork. The important thing is, none of them were seriously ill.

Any suggestions?

Suggestions?

What would you like people to suggest?

He didn't get a virus that you had. It isn't that uncommon. I would suggest not overthinking it.

Only 30-40% of people who share a home with someone infected with the old variant gets it.

It's not as high as that. It's an average of 20%, 33% for partners sharing a bed so still more likely you won't get it if someone in your household has it, even if you're sharing a bed which as I said earlier either suggests widespread immunity or not as transmissible as thought.

Think of like getting pregnant.

Some people get pregnant through non penetrative sex during their period because one sperm landed on the opening of the vagina, swam all the way up into the uterus and survived until an egg was released. Happens but is HIGHLY UNLIKELY. Similar to walking in a field that somebody with covid passed through an hour ago and then catching it.

80% of couples will get pregnant within a year of trying. If you spend time around covid positive people and take no precautions you will likely catch it - but it’s not guaranteed.

Some people just cant get pregnant for no reason. Again, rare, but it happens. Some people just don’t get covid.

@Radglags

Thank you for that
I never thought of it like that

No antibodies doesn't mean he didn't have it
I know work colleagues who tested positive for covid but negative for antibodies

I tested positive 2 weeks ago. My DH didn't get it but my DD who lives in her own home did. I have my GS everyday so I guess one of us passed it to the other but I'm surprised DH didn't get it. Our symptoms were so mild though

I had the same, both my husband and mum had it, but I didn’t get it and neither did the kids. I’ve also had a negative antibody test. However, I don’t know how reliable the antibody tests are because my husband’s also came back negative, but he definitely had a positive COVID test. He did only have mild symptoms though.

I caught covid and neither dh or dd appear to have caught it.
DH didn't isolate from me. The only time before, during or after he didn't share a bed or room, or have no contact with me was whilst I was in hospital but that was only a couple of days or so. Teen dd din't distance from me at home either.

My DS had Covid in November and none of the other four of us in the house caught it, I don't think it's that unusual.

We all variously got tested due to having colds etc around the same time and all were negative.

5 out of 6 in our household tested positive. I was the only one who didn’t despite DC not SD and sleeping in the same bed as DH. I tested negative 3 times over the 2 week period we all had to isolate, including at the end of it, as I wanted to be sure that I wouldn’t go out and infect anyone else. I had had headaches but that was probably due to being stuck inside with them all.

We had all been unusually ill with something that gave us horrendous coughs 9 months earlier (just before covid became a thing). I had it the worst so I can only assume that was covid and I still had antibodies.

I don't remember the exact numbers but I read that a small % are super spreaders responsible for most cases and the majority of people with COVID don't spread it much if at all. So this makes sense in that context.

The Diamond Princess, back in February 2020, accidentally ran an interesting experiment.

Although there was Covid on board, it was hardly known, nor thought about, so the passengers and crew were mixing freely, spending protracted periods together in poorly ventilated spaces and generally behaving in a way that would encourage the spreading of a virus. As well, the demographic of the passengers was older and more susceptable than average. Almost everyone on board was tested and, after several days of exposure to the virus, about one fifth tested positive. Of those, half were totally unaware they had the virus.

After that, of course, there was quarantine and isolation.

Food for thought.

I tested positive for a Covid on Monday as a day 1 entry requirement to a country I am visiting for a compassionate visit. I am asymptomatic and was very surprised. I shared a vehicle and a boat cabin for ten hours with my 4dc the day before my positive test (and I live with them obviously) - on Sunday they have a follow up test (and the week after), I’m fascinated to see how many of them are positive as they have no symptoms either......

My isolation will be long if they catch it one at time

@Hibernatingnation

There's a lot of small studies being done worldwide on t cells at the moment that have found many people with no exposure to sars Cov 2 have t cell immunity. They've even tested old blood samples from years ago and found the same which suggests it may actually not be a novel virus at all. It would certainly explain why almost 80% of people living with someone with covid do not get it. I've personally been exposed 4 times, all my other colleagues caught it but I never have despite being in a high risk close contact job. So either huge numbers of us are immune or its not as highly infectious as we're lead to believe.

Yes - this - the studies on T cell immunity are fascinating.

It also explains why not everyone on the early Diamond Princess cruise ship died - or even caught covid - despite staying in close proximity to each other despite being an older clientele.

I think some people so have T cell immunity (from previous expose to Sars) although doesn't T cell immunity decline in the elderly? Fascinating though.

Personally, I feel that there should be more outside mingling allowed at least - I'm worried that've I've not come close to anyone else's germs for a long time now and am losing natural immunity to various things.

Cross post @amicissimma

I was really scared of the virus, even in early March (and couldn't understand why everyone was so laid back about their coughs and colds) but I remember reassuring myself with the thought that at least 'only' 7 people on the Diamond Princess died (sad and shocking though it was) and at least it didn't wipe out all passengers and crew.

We might do well to bear that sense of proportion in mind over this next year.

OP, it is possible your husband might have some immunity from being near you when you had Covid?

Just a couple of interesting studies to share (more on google scholar)
COVID-19 and the Path to Immunity
"Substantial data now demonstrate the presence of preexisting T-cell immunity to SARS-CoV-2 in blood donors either prior to the COVID-19 pandemic or more recently among those without infection.1,5,6 Memory CD4+ T cells are found in higher frequencies than are CD8+ T cells, and these likely represent responses induced by previous infection with other human endemic betacoronaviruses known to cause the common cold. Such T cells can recognize known or predicted epitopes1 within the nucleocapsid (N protein) and spike structural proteins as well as the nonstructural proteins (NSPs), NSP7 and NSP13.5 SARS-CoV-2 reactive T cells are also seen in household contacts of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, and future studies may determine if cross-reactive T cells from previous coronavirus infections have been boosted with exposure to SARS-CoV-2. The biological implications of these findings will be significant if the preexisting T cells shape the immune repertoire to SARS-CoV-2 exposure and following vaccination as well as influence the severity of COVID-19. Overall, these data suggest T cells are another level of population-level immunity against COVID-19."

(jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2770758/)

and
Robust T Cell Immunity in Convalescent Individualswith Asymptomatic or Mild COVID-19
"SARS-CoV-2-specific memory T cells will likely prove critical for long-term immune protection againstCOVID-19. Here, we systematically mapped the functional and phenotypic landscape of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell responses in unexposed individuals, exposed family members, and individuals with acute or convalescent COVID-19... Importantly, SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells were detectable in antibody-seronegative exposed family members and convalescent individuals with a history of asymptomatic and mild COVID-19. Our collective dataset shows that SARS-CoV-2 elicits broadly directed and functionally replete memory T cell responses, suggesting that natural exposure or infection may prevent recurrent episodes of severe COVID-19"

(reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S0092867420310084?token=1A296A947EBA81FDFDC417A12EC447A35CDB5F6A71085E1007EB9B173643CB2E119F8B76C8AAE6F3D821CF9F0F2C7ABB)

I agree with PP that kids probably gave it to you. There have been cases of a 3 week plus incubation period and that's why people returning to China have to quarantine for 21 days.So maybe your kids picked it up at school in December and it took a while for you to show symptoms.

Was that to OP or my case? It wouldnt be the case for me as there were 5 weeks between last day of school and my positive test so I know I must be an outdoor transmission person (as were others this time round according to t and t I spoke to)

But you might not have meant me!!

I like the pregnancy analogy - that does make sense thankyou.

Dh had it. None of the rest of us got it. I had a different virus 10 days in & tested negative twice. Immunosuppressants so gp wanted me to check that test was not false negative.

I don’t understand what you mean about suggestions tbh.

Say the R number is 1. Then on average someone with it will pass it onto 1 other person. Basically it is not as contagious as the media suggest. All this staying home and saving lives is over the top..

It isn’t though, the natural R number is 3 for the original virus. It is only