Will exposure to weaker kind of coronavirus offer protection against covid-19?

Photo credit: United Nations COVID-19 Response @unitednations @unsplash
Will exposure to weaker kind of coronavirus offer protection against covid-19? | @healthbiztips

Will exposure to weaker coronavirus like those in common cold offer protection against covid-19?

@healthbiztips by Arlene Gentallan | health blog

Is it true that exposure to other milder forms of coronavirus such as those that cause the common cold can give a degree of protection against the novel covid-19 pandemic disease? Could this be an alternative method in the fight against covid?


First of all, I’d like to point out that there is a lack of proof for this notion. There is no research proving that individuals who’ve been recently afflicted with common cold will in turn have a milder version of covid-19 should they become infected.

Therefore, although there might be claims that individuals do get some form of protection when they’ve recently had a milder form of coronavirus, it will remain a claim that is yet to be proven by scientific research.


The idea of infecting yourself with a weaker form of coronavirus to gain immunity from covid-19, is in fact, the same principle that makes vaccines work. Vaccines are composed of weaker forms or parts of microbes that are incapable of inducing an infection, but can instead trigger the body to produce antibodies against it, thereby rendering the person immune.

Vaccine development passes through stringent trials and tests in order to ascertain their safety and effectiveness. Now, when presented with the idea of letting yourself get ill with common cold to obtain some form of immunity from covid-19, it’s as if the very thought of it undermines the very foundation of vaccine development.

Think of it this way, catching common colds thinking that it will give you some form of immunity against covid-19 is synonymous with brewing your own homemade vaccine. It’s risky, naive, and no one can back up this homemade brew.


Since we are dealing with a potentially deadly virus that has already claimed thousands of lives across the globe, the best thing that an individual can do is to prevent getting infected with the virus in the first place by following safety protocols such as wearing of mask, social distancing, and regular handwashing.