So just how likely are you to catch COVID-19 twice?
More contagious variants are raising a red flag about reinfection. Medical experts say reinfection is still uncommon, but not to be underestimated.
"We are concerned about reinfections. We have identified reinfections in Guilford County, we just don't have a very clear picture on variant reinfection," said Dr. Iulia Vann, the Guilford County Public Health director.
The CDC defines reinfection as "a person who got sick once, recovered, and then later became infected again."
Doctors are learning getting vaccinated may help prevent a second round of COVID.
"If you've been vaccinated the rate of getting infected after vaccination is roughly between .03% and .05%, so that's pretty low," said Dr. Christopher Ohl, with Wake Forest Baptist Health.
Dr. Cynthia Snider, at Cone Health, says there are likely two factors driving reinfection.
"When somebody is reinfected, we worry that it could be a variant strain or perhaps the first time they got infected that it was possibly a mild disease, and they did not mount enough immunity against it," Snider said.
The reinfection rate varies by county. Some local health departments are not investigating cases, while others are reporting a "handful" since the start of the pandemic.
"We've had situations in which an individual had been diagnosed with COVID maybe last spring or over the summer and now they are reinfected with COVID," Vann said.
In a perfect situation, people would develop enough natural immunity to fight off future attacks, but since the strength and longevity of natural immunity are unclear, doctors are encouraging everyone to get a boost from the vaccine.
"The vaccines that we have available are very effective of preventing severe disease, preventing hospitalization and death so it is so important for us to vaccinate all who fit that criteria now," Snider said.
If you're reviewing the state's COVID-19 dashboard, the health department does not include reinfections as new cases in its case counts.
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