Professor John Wright in study to see if he's had Covid-19 twice

Professor Wright, public health doctor and Director of the Bradford Institute of Health Research at the BRI, revealed he recently tested positive for the virus and experiencing symptoms.

In a diary for the BBC, alongside the 'NHS Front Line' Radio 4 programme, he asks the question, ‘Have I got Covid for a second time?'

Professor Wright had the test as part of the self-testing scheme for frontline workers every two weeks, designed to find any asymptomatic cases.

The test took place ahead of a "precious" visit to see his 89-year-old father, who he has only seen once this year.

Professor Wright said: “The omnipresent virus, however, had other plans.

“On Thursday evening, the day before my visit, I undertook the self-testing ritual - scraping the delicate swab at the back of my throat to elicit a gag reflex, then twiddling it high up in each nostril, dissolving it in buffer solution and then anointing the lateral flow kit. A hollow emptiness grew as the positive line grew stronger. I didn't believe it. In denial, I quickly repeated the test - but with the same result. The next morning I had my PCR swab and at 04:50 on the Saturday was notified that this too was positive.

“The visit to my dad was now definitely off and I began a 10-day isolation, together with my wife, Helen. Also a front-line medic, Helen had been vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine on Thursday, at almost exactly the same time as my two positive self-test results. Immunity with the Pfizer vaccine takes off reasonably quickly, with some protection occurring by day 12 after the first dose, but the full immune effect isn't felt until a week after the second dose.

“So here we are: I have the SARS-CoV-2 virus and she has the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine - disease and cure, villain and hero, yin and yang living under one roof. But she still needs to isolate as she could be infected by me before her immunity builds up.”

Professor Wright described the result as “a surprise” after an antibody test revealed a “historic infection”.

He explained: “When I had a T-cell test and it came back positive, that seemed to clinch it. I had been exposed to the virus, I had had a positive antibody test and a positive T-cell test; it seemed likely that I had had Covid-19, and I felt reassured by this. A number of my colleagues who had negative antibody tests and hadn't been fortunate enough to have a T-cell test, remained nervous about the inevitable risk.”

Curious about his situation, he contacted Prof Paul Klenerman, from the University of Oxford, who is leading one of the major national immunity studies on Covid-19.

His antibody tests earlier in the Summer were part of this study.

Now with a symptomatic case of the virus, Professor Wright was told that his  antibody results were negative but they could have faded naturally by the time he was tested. But his memory T-cell assay was "very suggestive" of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The professor questioned whether it could be his immune system’s memory of a different kind of coronavirus, such as the common cold, but was told it is “too early” to say.

Prof Klenerman said there is not yet an understanding of how long immune protection will last, either for those who have had Covid-19 or those with the vaccine.

Professor Wright said: “I quite like the idea of being a scientific curiosity and I will keep you posted if the answer becomes clear.

“Let me take you back to my unexpected positive self-test. There is much debate in the medical journals about the evidence for rapid, asymptomatic, mass testing.

“However, this week it may well have saved my dad's life.

“And now that he has had the vaccine, my visit to see him may be back on - if restrictions on travel and mixing permit it - early in the New Year.”