Dr. Andrew Handel

“With COVID, we also have a shorter-lasting immunity ... There's enough of a waning in immunity that six months after your initial infection in the winter, people tend to get another maybe less robust, less severe infection in the summer.”

Dr. Andrew Handel · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-22

Dr. Handel discussed how waning immunity after winter can lead to reinfection in the summer.

“The virus tends to mutate quickly, but there are small mutations one at a time, and so those can kind of add up over time more than we see with other viruses like influenza,”

Dr. Andrew Handel · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-22

Dr. Handel explained how the gradual accumulation of viral mutations leads to breakthrough infections.