Why does one become immune and unable to pass on a certain disease after being infected by it?
In: Biology
Once you’re immune and the virus is defeated internally, there won’t be more viral pieces to shed and infect others. You could still handle virus portions and pass them along, but you wouldn’t be generating any yourself.
BTW, it’s expected that recovery will provide immunity at least for a while, but this hasn’t been tested or confirmed. But the concept of “herd immunity” is based on this.
OTOH, the annual flu shot is because each year the common flu mutates slightly or has its origin from a different area and is slightly different. The “novel corona virus” is new (novel) and so nobody has preexisting immunity to it.
When you get sick the body’s immune system creates antibodies to fight off the infection. And in most cases once this happens you typically can be immune to getting the same virus again. This does not always mean you won’t pass the virus on to others.
Whne you get sick your immune system makes little antibodies that munch away the virus!
Sometimes the antibodies still leave crumbs, so you could still infect others, but they eat all that they need to protect your body 🙂
[This graph](https://cnx.org/resources/567ad79b5a158e6b717fcccbc748466c/Figure_42_02_10.jpg) illustrates it nicely.
The first time you are exposed to something, your immune system is slow to respond and the response itself is small. The immune system has a memory, so the second time you are exposed to something the immune system will recognise it and the response is immediate and big. This can clear up the pathogen before you get sick so you may not even notice you were re-exposed. If it can’t take hold then you’re not carrying it around either.
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