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Original poster

Why do some people just not get it?

97 replies

Wednesdayafternoon · 20/03/2022 11:24

I've heard so many people not catch it from people in their house and the same seems to be happening in my house right now! My mum has Covid, we live with her, nobody else has caught it. The day before she tested we were on the car with windows shut for a good hour... I'm fine. I don't mean to sounds ungreatful, obviously I don't want to be unwell, but I just don't understand how some people just don't catch it?
Am I super human 🙈
Tbh a small part of me just wants it over with, the bigger part of me wants to be well obviously!

OP posts:
Toty · 20/03/2022 13:51

It's not a mystery. Pre exisiting t cell immunity exists. Have a Google. Loads of research supporting this theory.
Unfortunately the world's governments have focused solely on antibodies, however antibodies are only a small part of our immune system and don't work in isolation.

Lilaclavenders · 20/03/2022 16:25

I've never managed to catch it either.

Despite sharing a bed with a covid positive partner and different household members having had it.

I'm tempted to do an antibody test...

lanbro · 20/03/2022 16:30

Out of 8 of us at Christmas only my youngest dd8 didn't catch it. Her closest friends at school have had it but still not her.

She is rarely poorly, has never had a sickness bug or even vomited, I assume she just has a really good immune system

MajorCarolDanvers · 20/03/2022 16:45

Remember flu and noro virus - comes round every year and not everyone catches.

How many times have you had these in your house and not everyone gets it

Even the most transmissible viruses don't get everyone.

Covid is the same.

Plus some people have better natural immunity and at least a third are asymptomatic.

DoWhatYouLike · 20/03/2022 16:59

Last summer, I caught Delta, ended up being on a ventilator for 2 weeks. Husband also caught it, was like the flu. Eldest son got it, was in hospital for 3 days. The other son didn't catch it. None of us had had the vaccines (I certainly have since, and so has my husband and our eldest son) 2nd son (late 30s) still hasn't had any vaccines, he hasn't been off sick from work for 10 years, never gets so much as a cold.

gingerhills · 20/03/2022 17:18

I thought I was immune to it until Omicron came along. Got it, and have had low immunity ever since, catching every cold going. Wish I hadn't felt so fit and smug for two years, I feel like weedy wreck right now.

Original poster
Wednesdayafternoon · 20/03/2022 18:22

If I've been asymptomatic though surely my LFT would be positive? I regularly test due to work!
But nether the less I suppose nobody really knows!
I went for a pcr test today but I'm expecting a negative result!

OP posts:
dillydallydollydaydream7 · 20/03/2022 18:26

It's bizarre- DH had it just before Christmas and none of us caught it, I tested positive on Friday and so far I'm the only one. It baffles me

Waxonwaxoff0 · 20/03/2022 18:28

@Wednesdayafternoon

If I've been asymptomatic though surely my LFT would be positive? I regularly test due to work! But nether the less I suppose nobody really knows! I went for a pcr test today but I'm expecting a negative result!
I didn't have a positive LFT when I had Covid, but I had 2 positive PCRs.
Nurserygerms · 20/03/2022 19:10

Same here. Its been in my house twice and everyone has had it but me. Including a 3 y old and a baby who have sneezed, coughed on me, put their snotty fingers in my mouth and kissed me on the mouth.

I'm going with the narrative that I'm superhuman, I like it!

RichardsGear · 20/03/2022 19:24

"It is probably more to do with LFTs being self administered. If the swab isn’t inserted almost to the back of your nose it’s not going to pick up sufficient viral protein to test positive."

The LFTs I have (OrientGene I think they're called) instruct the user to swab just inside the nostril 🤷‍♀️.

I've never had it. DC age 14 has never had it either despite being unvaccinated and it been rife in their school year. They were holed up for hours with three friends in one room for a sleepover the other week and two of the friends tested positive the next day. DC has tested regularly since and still nothing.

littlepeas · 20/03/2022 19:29

I’m a rubbish, half assed swabber and my dose of covid was picked up on lat flow and PCR.

MajorCarolDanvers · 20/03/2022 19:49

@Wednesdayafternoon

If I've been asymptomatic though surely my LFT would be positive? I regularly test due to work! But nether the less I suppose nobody really knows! I went for a pcr test today but I'm expecting a negative result!
Lft tells you whether you are infectious PCR confirms whether you have it or not.

You can have a positive PCR and a negative LFT

x2boys · 20/03/2022 19:59

I have never tested positive ,my oldest has had it twice ,and everybody but me in our small Two bedroom house got it at Xmas ,I did have symptoms though I'm wandering if for some reason it's not picked up in some people 🤷

containsnuts · 20/03/2022 21:15

I think we'll find out in the future that not everybody that tests positive is actually contagious.

BertieBotts · 20/03/2022 21:29

It's random chance, that's how random chance works, why do people not understand this? I don't see what is hard to understand about it.

You come into contact with a person who is infected, that means you might be coming into contact with virus particles they are shedding, or not. They might be shedding a lot or a little. Amount of time and proximity will make a difference to what you're exposed to. Also whether they are wearing a mask or coughing/sneezing on you.

If you did come into contact with virus particles, they might be transferred from the outside of your body and clothing to the inside of your body, or not. A few or a lot. Washing your hands, wearing a mask which is correctly disposed of will help prevent against this.

If the virus particles do get into your body, your immune system will fight them. It might be successful, or not. It's less likely to be successful if it's run down or busy fighting other things. It's more likely to get a handle quickly if it already knows the template from vaccination or previous infection.

Lots of variables and therefore random chance.

Delatron · 20/03/2022 21:34

Agree with @Toty pre existing t-cell immunity is important. This can be for similar coronaviruses.
So much focus on antibodies (and how quickly they wane) whilst ignoring the other parts of our immune response (T and B cells).

I also think some people are super spreaders and some people don’t pass it on at all (whatever the opposite of a super spreader is!).

Despite many close contacts and my DS2 having Delta I never caught it until a super spreader party where 75% of us came down with it within 2 days.

gogohm · 20/03/2022 21:46

Dp has it. I do not, we have not distanced at all Grin (he's not at all ill but had mild symptoms last Tuesday) ok might be speaking too soon but my whole family are the same, my DD's have been exposed as in sharing a tent, a boat, in a dorm and not caught it, my brother is literally the person in his company going in tomorrow, everyone is off with covid. I think I had it in March 2020, but it consisted of a fever for circa 2 hours then lost taste and smell but wasn't ill (no tests available). I think my family is resistant and we've registered for a research trial

gogohm · 20/03/2022 21:49

@Tanfastic I've never had flu either. I can count the number of times I've taken antibiotics on one hand. I'm overweight and don't always eat enough vegetables, definitely not lifestyle related!

Delatron · 20/03/2022 22:01

I think genetics play a huge part.

Some people are just immune to certain illnesses/viruses. A certain percentage of the population are immune to Norovirus for example. I’ve had it a few times. DH cleans my sick bowl and shares a bed but never gets it! Despite it being hugely contagious.

RichTeaRichTea · 21/03/2022 02:42

Agree with BertieBotts. And it has always been the case that not everyone catches every bug they come into contact with, even within your own household. It’s just that we don’t normally have at-home testing, logging symptoms and so on, so we are paying more attention than usual

DancingBarefootOnIce · 21/03/2022 03:12

@Waxonwaxoff0

You don't know for sure that you've never had it, that's the thing. You could have had it unknowingly at any point and been asymptomatic.
This
RebeccaCloud9 · 21/03/2022 06:31

@angrymum22 you don't necessarily need to reach right up your nose for a positive, my Ds(4) barely tickled the opening of his nostrils for his positive tests!

Mooey89 · 21/03/2022 06:48

I have worked in the nhs throughout, been in contact with countless positive cases, DS had it.
Smugly assumed I was immune. I’d had the antibody test through work so knew I hadn’t had it.
My friend was the same, shared a bed with positive DH and didn’t catch it, didn’t get it from her kids.

This week BAM wiped us all out. 😂

SpringIntoChaos · 21/03/2022 06:55

I've not (knowingly) caught it yet, and have worked all through in my KS1 classroom 🤷‍♀️ Even when schools (🤣) 'closed'...which they didn't! There I was, every day, in my VERY small and NOT ventilated classroom, which was packed with 'key worker' children. Our school had 75-80% attendance throughout the lockdowns. We had no chance of socially distancing. None.

I'm older (59), asthmatic, and overweight...so I was definitely prime Covid fodder 🤣 Every other member of staff around me has caught it (even our admin staff), and in my current class, since September, 22/30 children (and my TA has had it twice this year 😨). I have NO IDEA how I have not been struck down...

Obviously I may have had it asymptomatically, but given how really ill our staff have been, and some of the children too, I suspect I've just got lucky. My time will come, I'm sure 🤷‍♀️