Are some people just naturally immune?

[Sailorsue]

My friend hasn’t had any vaccines (not a crazy anti vaxxer, just hesitant currently).
She works in a local comprehensive, her partner works in retail. So both key workers.
She has never had covid as far as we’re aware, yet she’s been in contact with it several times through her job. She also has a child at pre school and they’ve been exposed to it, yet she’s never tested positive.
She thinks they all had it in the first wave in 2020 as they were all quite unwell then, but obviously tests didn’t exist in the same way as now.

I was reading a very interesting scientific paper a few months ago.

It has been found that certain groups of people who had a particular corona virus before covid-19 have antibodies that are similar enough to recognise and attack covid-19.

It could explain why whole family groups in at risk jobs didn't get sick. Even caring for people with covid-19 without PPE.

This was way before omicron and before delta too I think.

@Blubells

Are those of you who've never had covid completely unvaccinated? That would imply natural immunity.

I understand that there are indeed people who are intrinsically immune to covid. Not just asymptomatic but they will never test positive.

Yes never had covid and unvaccinated.

@blueshoes

It makes sense that some people are naturally immune but the more likely explanation is that they caught it but were asymptomatic and acquired immunity and probably also since got jabbed anyway.

This makes sense. Neither myself or DH have tested positive, have been around DD who had it last year, I've been repeatedly around adults and kids who tested positive after I have seen them (kids activity I volunteer at) and have kept well. I'm now double jabbed and boosted but only since June this year.

Well kind of us had it, until we got it! 😂 we got it 2 weeks before Christmas but we honestly never would have known the kids had it! Only tested because done one inDS Class at school had it. They never developed any symptoms. Me and hubby did when we caught it from them (both double jabbed) but it was only bad fit a couple of days. If you think how many people are in the country, you’re still more likely to have not had it (or had it before testing was available) than to have had a positive test!(UK) x

I'm a teacher in special needsprimary so many kids in my class have had it and all my staff- 4. I've been literally sneezed on in the face by a child who tested positive that day . I've never had it! Im double jabbed(now had booster) but so was every other adult and they all caught it.

@TinaYouFatLard

FFS it’s a cold for the vast majority of people. Most of us will have had a cold since 2019.

Having a cold doesn't mean someone's had covid though. Dd has had negative antibody tests for covid (virus acquired) and has never tested positive in numerous LFTs and PCRs.

I'm always exposed to germs and bugs and rarely ill too op. There's definitely a correlation.

I have not knowingly had covid. I teach and many colleagues and children I work closely with have had it/ have it now.
None of my 6 off spring have had it despite close friends all having it. I have an unvaccinated 18 year old whose boyfriend currently has covid and she doesn’t.
I have certainly had my fair share of nasty bugs since September but all LFTs and PCRs were negative.

My mum caught it twice at the very beginning of the pandemic, before anyone had been vaccinated. She was in hospital on the first occasion, and at home the second, but my dad, who's in his 70s, never became ill at all.

I know someone who is unvaccinated and someone in their household has tested positive on 4 or 5 separate occasions and they have never got it. They've checked with PCR tests and LFT's. Xx

Not sure about “natural immunity” - I don’t think it’s possible to be naturally immune to a virus you have never come into contact with. It’s been reported that people of a particular blood type are less likely to suffer serious side effects (I think 0 positive?).

Also some people have stronger innate immunity than others: their immune systems overall are just in better shape.

It could just be luck though.

DH has never had it, despite sharing a bed with me when I had covid. The kids have never caught it either.

But then, they are all never sick. Can count on one hand how often the 4 of them have come down with something.

Me on the other hand, I catch EVERYTHING and had covid last Christmas. I have caught a cold again, but I am always sick at christmas. It's like tradition (and yes I have tested and yes its negative) and will likely be poorly next xmas too.

I know I’ve had it (had an antibody test) and I’m almost positive it was right at the beginning before testing was really happening. 2 teens in school/college, I work in hospitality/retail been LFT testing since that started and none of us have ever tested positive. DS2 has been sat next to people in school who were positive and still nothing. We are all jabbed (DS2 not boosted yet).

My friend (double jabbed, mid 30’s) has just had it for the third time!

@Alayalaya

There will be some people who are immune. There always are. There are even some people who are immune to AIDS. Researchers are trying to identify these people so they can test them and maybe find a cure.

I didn't know that, would be fantastic if they could cure it.

As a family we’ve had lots of close contacts. Dd also sat on someone’s lap who had covid. Hundreds of tests not one positive.

@Blubells

Are those of you who've never had covid completely unvaccinated? That would imply natural immunity.

I understand that there are indeed people who are intrinsically immune to covid. Not just asymptomatic but they will never test positive.

I'm unvaccinated and never had it, same with my kids. At the same time though, other family members and friends are fully vaccinated and they haven't had it either. Surprisingly considering our area has been a hotspot twice at least.

@PineappleMojito

Also never tested positive here. I have worked in person in my job with teens and adults right through apart from around 6 weeks in lockdown 1. According to a lot of people in my profession (psychology/psychotherapy), both I and my entire client base should be dead by now because working in person is SO DANGEROUS OMG and I am LITERALLY KILLING PEOPLE

I had a bug of some kind in summer - negative LFT and then negative PCR. Recently had a mild winter cold, again the same, both tests came up negative, so I guess it wasn’t the rona. (Of course both times I isolated and didn’t work in person until tests came back). I have a theory that I did have it at the end of 2019 but of course can’t prove it as no testing then. I had a horrid respiratory virus that resulted in pneumonia and the cough lasted for months. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t - I’ll never know!

Off topic but I work in this sector too and it's aggrivating me how many people in my profession are like you are literally putting people at huge risk seeing them f2f! Even if they have specifically requested to be seen in person 🤔

There are probably any number of people who've had covid without knowing at the time and who still have antibodies that protect them when exposed again.

I had the most horrific illness just as schools etc were closing for the very first time. Presume now it was covid but no way of knowing. I took part in anti body tests through work and they always said no trace, so who knows!
But still no covid despite working in school throughout, dd testing postive, other dd numerous close contacts and DH in emergency services!
2 x vax plus a booster and haven't had a cold in months which is NOT like me

I’ve had an antibody test which was negative so fairly sure I haven’t had it. I am fully vaccinated but spend a lot of time in close,proximity with large groups of people, no ppe and some of those people have had it and contacted me the following day to say they have symptoms/are positive.

I've never tested positive and am very exposed (school age children, travel into work on public transport, work in a hospital).

I had antibodies in 2020 before I was vaccinated so must have had it asymptomatically early on. I am now triple vaccinated and although the virus doing the rounds again, including in my house, I have remained negative.

Strong immune system I guess? Or perhaps I do get it occasionally but not strong enough to have symptoms or to show up on a lateral flow test (which I take twice a week for work)?

I had Covid Feb2020. It wasn’t until mid 2020 that I concluded that it probably was Covid since no testing was available. I know a lot of people who had similar “cold” in late 2019, early 2020 ( I work in healthcare so have to take medical history every time I see a patient and Covid questions are mandatory).
I had a number of proper exposures throughout 2020 and didn’t catch it again. Vaccinated early 2021 then eventually succumbed in Sept to Delta which is probably sufficiently variant to allow breakthrough infection. Second dose of Covid was very mild and short lived.
Now had booster but I expect to get Omicron at some time, in fact we’ve had mild symptoms, sore throat, thickly cough etc in the run up to Christmas but no positive lfts and since we’ve been isolating in order to see PIL (CED).
I think the original Covid variant was much more active in the population in early 2020. If you look back at January 2020 we had extreme weather including severe flooding. Many “vulnerable” were forced to isolate at this time and certainly all our local nightclubs and venues were closed due to flooding. It had been a very mild flu season so many who would have died during the flu season were still around in late spring when the first wave hit.
Lockdown played a part but Covid is now obviously seasonal ( indoor mixing).
I hope that we don’t go into lockdown again since it will just push this wave further along the line. Stats are suggesting that it is a much milder strain, but it may just be more of us have immunity that we didn’t think we had.

Yes, as I understand it they think that some people who were exposed to a certain type of Cornonavirus pre Covid have natural immunity.

I know quite a few people who were the only people in their family/bubble at school/riddled workplace who didn't get it themselves. And then other people who think they got it from only being very briefly exposed to someone/a certain place. It does seem to be a bit random, but obviously there must be a reason behind it. Same with why some people have big reactions to the vaccines/boosters and some people don't even get a sore arm.

Interesting thread. I’ve been exposed numerous times and have never tested positive. I am triple jabbed.

But I have noticed something though. On about 3 occasions when I know I’ve been exposed I have felt mildly unwell for about 24 hours or so - slight raised temperature, very tired, a feeling that I was coming down with something. All those times I’ve thought, OK I’ve got it now. I’ve done numerous PCRs and have LFT, sometimes daily for work, and all negative.

These short periods of feeling unwell have been very similar to my reaction to my second Pfizer jab.

So I’m theorising that these exposures have acted like some kind of booster. Would love to know if this is possible or anyone else has experienced similar.

As far as I'm aware none of the 4 people in my house have had it. All unvaccinated. I work in a school, DD at High school, DS working p/time in customer facing role, DP wfh but goes out and about to shops etc. We are a family who are rarely ill and I do think we are just lucky and have good immune systems. I'm waiting on results if antibody tests to see if I have had it. I am coughed on, sneezed on, touch surfaces all the time others have touched but seem to do ok.