NJ Reality Star With Coronavirus: Latest Antibody Test Negative

HOBOKEN, NJ — With so much unknown about coronavirus, including whether a person can get the virus twice, stories from individuals with the virus have been invaluable. Hoboken mom Michelle Maradie Thomas — a former contestant on "Big Brother 4" who shared her difficult struggle to survive coronavirus in March — revealed concerning information on Thursday, saying that while her April antibody test showed she had some immunity to the virus, her newest antibody test was negative.

There have been questions about how long the antibodies in a coronavirus sufferer last, and whether they protect someone from having the virus a second time. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently says of antibody testing, "We do not know yet if people who recover from COVID-19 can get infected again. Scientists are working to understand this."

If Maradie's testing is accurate, it suggests that not everyone who is able to fight off the virus maintains the antibodies to do so again.

However, some believe that t-cells are also an important indicator.

Thomas had shared her story in spring of how she could barely breathe when she had the virus, but doctors warned her not to go to the hospital unless she was desperate.

On Thursday, Thomas wrote:

<blockquote>

UPDATE: I shared my Covid story below on social media back in March and wanted to share an interesting update:

• March 24th - I tested positive for Covid-19
• April 27th - I tested negative for Covid-19 and positive for Covid-19 antibodies at Mount Sinai in Manhattan
• July 27th - I tested negative for Covid-19 antibodies at Riverside Medical in Hoboken

I recently retested for antibodies because there are conflicting articles out there regarding antibodies, how long they last, and whether one can become reinfected with Covid-19 after already testing positive. I was really hoping to retest positive for antibodies because I wanted some hope for immunity going forward.

However my personal testing experiences suggests otherwise. I’m not a doctor and not certain that I’m able to contract the virus again at this stage, but wanted to share my story because there may be a risk for reinfection even if you’ve already had the virus. Be careful out there!!!

</blockquote>

As of Thursday afternoon, the number of cases in New Jersey since early March climbed to 180,970, with 13,934 confirmed deaths. Thursday's number included 261 cases confirmed since the day before, and 19 more confirmed deaths.

The governor warned Wednesday that New Jersey's coronavirus cases are on the rise again, and he believes that indoor parties have been largely responsible for the uptick. Read more: Gov. Murphy Warns That NJ's Coronavirus Cases Are Rising Again

But the current daily death rate is down from New Jersey's peak: a high of 460 deaths in 24 hours on April 30, or one person every three minutes.

Gov. Murphy has asked people returning to New Jersey from 34 other states to quarantine for 14 days. Coronavirus levels are increasing in many states where precautions were not as strict as in New Jersey (see the daily increases in each state by clicking here).

Hoboken, a mile-square city of 53,000 people across the river from Manhattan, was among the first towns in the region to begin shutting down facilities. The local coronavirus death toll has remained low, at 29 since the pandemic began. But there have been upticks in infections among local young people, and in people returning from travel to states that are dealing with spikes in deaths.

Coronavirus levels are increasing in many states (see the daily increases in each state here). States around the country have had to pull back on their reopenings, including Texas, which closed bars and is seeing a record number of hospitalizations and deaths.

While most children in the United States have avoided severe symptoms from the virus, they can transmit it to teachers, parents and others. A large-scale study in South Korea, quoted widely in a variety of American media outlets last week, has shown that teens spread it at the same rate as adults, more easily than younger children.

News outlets reported this week that many coronavirus sufferers who recover will still have heart damage.

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