Getting coronavirus may prevent against reinfection for months, preliminary study finds

People walk around London in masks
(Image credit: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Contracting COVID-19 is nearly as effective at preventing reinfection as the two top coronavirus vaccines — but there are a few catches.

A study by Public Health England, which has yet to be peer reviewed, tested 21,000 health-care workers across the U.K. and found 6,614 of them had antibodies against COVID-19, indicating they'd contracted the virus in the past. But of those who'd been infected, 44 had possibly gotten the virus again despite their antibodies, indicating an 83 percent chance of protection against reinfection over five months, CNN reports.

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Kathryn Krawczyk

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.