YORK, Pennsylvania — Experts are studying instances in which people are immune to COVID-19 without suffering infection or having received a vaccination.
Dr. Raghav Tirupathi, of WellSpan, says this is currently a fascinating theory.
"That's a good plausible theory, but is that explaining all of the immunity that is there in the community the bigger question," he said.
Though he says he hasn't seen any cases like this here in Central Pennslyvania, it may be because the infected person may have not been to a health care facility.
Tirupathi explained, "It's very less likely that they would be seen in a health care setting if they have not had an infection."
Dr. Tirupathi says there are also theories in which people are resistant to infection because they've already been infected with COVID-19.
"That is definitely a plausible theory and could explain why younger patients may not get as sick compared to older folks," he said.
With all of the concepts and theories that are out there, Dr. Tirupathi says it's far too early to use any in a vaccine-based approach to battling COVID-19.
As Moderna gets ready to seek FDA approval for a low dose vaccine for kids ages 6-and-under, Tirupathi says these early studies may have an impact on people's decision to get vaccinated.
"People might think that many of the folks anyways are immune to the infection so why get the vaccine...this is only a concept and a theory and it's being tested in the labs," Tirupathi explained.
