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Comment by jedberg | Hacker News Reader

> or most of them (like myself) already had it and therefore have little reason to follow any guidelines.

FYI, just because you've already had it doesn't mean you can't be an asymptomatic carrier. In fact, you're more likely to be one, since you're less likely to have symptoms again.

Also, some people have had it twice.

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> FYI, just because you've already had it doesn't mean you can't be an asymptomatic carrier.

That statement defies all science and logic. Either I have immunity, which means the virus can’t survive in my body which means I can’t be a carrier OR I don’t have immunity at which point it’s just as likely to get symptoms as it was the first time.

> Also, some people have had it twice.

There is no actual data to suggest that, only a few self reported cases which scientists have said were far from clear. It’s still regarded as very unlikely and in fact all regions in the world which had a very severe outbreak in March and April haven’t had a second wave at all yet whilst the rest of such countries are currently in the middle of a steep second spike again.

Immunity is not black and white. You could have sufficient immunity to stop it from taking hold in your body while at the same time carrying the virus in your sinuses and breathing them out on everyone.

> and in fact all regions in the world which had a very severe outbreak in March and April haven’t had a second wave at all yet

That's just straight up wrong. Most everywhere is now seeing a second wave, except the USA, because we never ended our first wave.

I specifically said "regions" and not "countries". Yes, when you look at a country holistically then there is a second wave, but when you look at where the infections are happening this time round then it is absolutely true what I said. Viruses don't think of countries, so looking at arbitrary borders to get an understanding is extremely unhelpful at best.

I said country because most of the data is at the country level.

But if you have data showing that regions with a high level of infection in March don't have a high level now, I'd love to see it.

Here is some data about Spain, showing Madrid with a huge second wave: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/world/europe/spain-...

Immunity is often a spectrum. Nothing is black and white in biology.

> in fact all regions in the world which had a very severe outbreak in March and April haven’t had a second wave at all yet whilst the rest of such countries are currently in the middle of a steep second spike again.

You should probably investigate Madrid before making such strong statements.

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