I Haven't Gotten COVID Yet and Here's My Secret

It's hard to believe, but there are people who haven't had COVID. It seems like catching the virus is unavoidable at this point, but there are many who haven't had the misfortune of experiencing the sickness and long-term effects COVID can unleash. So is it luck or something more? Dr. Jagdish Khubchandani, MBBS, Ph.D., a professor of public health at New Mexico State University tells us, "No one can know for sure why they didn't have COVID-19 infections, but several measures have been shown to be effective, which I've highlighted below." Read on to find out more—and to ensure your health and the health of others, don't miss Already Had COVID? These Symptoms May "Never Go Away".

Dr. Khubchandani says, "When people work in an office setting, they are more likely to attend meetings, chat with colleagues, be in the same space as others, or use common rooms or physical structures. Also, working in an office setting means greater socialization or higher number of non-work-related gatherings. The reduction in human interaction could have been a possible reason." 6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

According to Dr. Khubchandani, "Limiting shopping, game days, and other social outings have helped a lot in avoiding crowded spaces and interactions with others. Many individuals are asymptomatic and still have the infection; avoiding social outings or reducing frequency of going out (e.g. grocery store visits) helps a lot in reducing the risk of infection."

"Wearing a high quality mask (e.g. N95) has provided a lot of protection from people  around who are obviously sick and coughing or even from those who could come close and have an asymptomatic infection," says Dr. Khubchandani. "It is not always possible to avoid any human contact and one has to interact with people (e.g. during healthcare visits), the mask provides an added layer of protection." 

Dr. Khubchandani states, "Getting vaccinated on a priority basis early in the initial rollout phase of the vaccines may have helped avoid all the deadly waves of COVID-19. Recent boosters may have ensured sustained protection." 

Dr. Khubchandani shares, "Not having a chronic disease, unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, or risk factors for serious COVID-19 infection (e.g. organ transplant) may have played a major role and having decent immunity may have added more protection. Finally, some of us could be in the pool of people who have unique immune system gifts that may have helped us avoid COVID-19 infections. New gene studies are trying to explore unique characteristics of individuals who did not get COVID-19. Or, it could be a unique combination of multiple demographic, genetic, behavioral, and immune related factors peculiar to some of us that could make us vulnerable or resistant to infection with COVID-19."

Follow the public health fundamentals and help end this pandemic, no matter where you live—get vaccinated or boosted ASAP; if you live in an area with low vaccination rates, wear an N95 face mask, don't travel, social distance, avoid large crowds, don't go indoors with people you're not sheltering with (especially in bars), practice good hand hygiene, and to protect your life and the lives of others, don't visit any of these 35 Places You're Most Likely to Catch COVID.