The UK government's senior scientific advisers have warned that reinfections with COVID-19 are "to be expected" as the novel coronavirus spreads and that the timeframe between each infection may be "relatively short".

According to a paper by the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium, released by the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, it remains unclear at what point recovered people become vulnerable to reinfection but the prospect of reinfections does exist based on human response to other kinds of coronaviruses, such as those behind flu and common cold. It, therefore, throws the concept of any long-term immunity from COVID-19 without a viable vaccine into serious doubt.