You Can Catch Two Strains of COVID at Once

Misbar found that Brazil recently reported two independent events of individuals testing positive for two different strains of the COVID-19 virus at the same time. According to Newshub, the detection of multiple variants in a person could be the result of co-infection by the different variants, or the generation of mutations within the patient after the initial infection.

Mutations in viruses are neither new nor unexpected. According to Robert Bollinger, M.D. of  Johns Hopkins Medicine, it is the nature of viruses such as the coronavirus to evolve and change gradually: "All RNA viruses mutate over time, some more than others. For example, flu viruses change often, which is why doctors recommend that you get a new flu vaccine every year."

It is unknown at this time how long our immune system will remember one variant or another and then be able to provide protection. Scientists in South Africa reported that antibodies from some people infected during the country’s first wave failed to recognize the newer variant spreading there now according to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases. 

The good news is that the evidence so far does not suggest that infection with more than one variant leads to more severe disease. And although possible, very few cases of co-infection have been reported.