Who Are the ‘Never-Coviders’?
那些天生不会感染新冠的人

The year began as the surge in the Omicron variant in the U.S. was nearing its peak: On Jan. 20, nearly 160,000 Covid patients were hospitalized, the most at any point in the pandemic. On Feb. 2, the seven-day average of new reported deaths peaked at 2,669.

这一年伊始，美国奥密克戎变种的激增接近顶峰：1月20日，近16万名新冠患者住院，是大流行期间住院人数最多的一次。2月2日，新报告死亡人数的七天平均值达到2669人的峰值。

As the year comes to a close, an expected seasonal increase in Covid cases has begun. The seven-day average of daily deaths is up 65 percent from two weeks ago. With cases of the flu and respiratory syncytial virus, or R.S.V., also high, several cities and counties, including New York City and Los Angeles, have advised people to mask up.

临近年末，预期中的新冠病例季节性增长已经开始。七天平均每日死亡人数比两周前增加了65%。由于流感和呼吸道合胞病毒(RSV)病例也很高，包括纽约市和洛杉矶在内的多个城市和县都建议人们戴口罩。

在华盛顿的一个新冠中心，一名护士正在准备疫苗加强针。

But one of the most confounding mysteries of the pandemic remains: Some people have never had Covid, this season or ever.

但大流行病最令人困惑的谜团之一仍未解开：有些人从未感染过新冠，无论是以前还是这一季。

While many people may have avoided infection through precaution or luck, “never Coviders,” scientists believe, are truly out there: People who are naturally immune and whose genetics could hold clues for treatment.

虽然许多人可能通过预防措施或因为运气而避免了感染，但科学家认为，真的存在“永不感染者”(never Coviders)：他们天生具有免疫力，对他们的遗传学研究可以为治疗提供线索。

Jonathan Wolfe spoke with Times colleague Apoorva Mandavilli about how scientists are trying to find them, and what we might learn.

乔纳森·沃尔夫与时报同事阿普尔瓦·曼达维利谈到了科学家们如何努力寻找这样的人，以及我们能学到什么。

Does this really happen?

这是真的吗？

It probably is a real thing. There are other viruses for which we know there are people who are naturally resistant. The most striking example I can think of is H.I.V., where there is a mutation that makes some people resistant to getting infected with the virus. That’s actually been the key to curing the very few people that have been cured of H.I.V.

可能是。我们已知有些人天生对其他病毒具有抵抗力。我能想到的最突出的例子是艾滋病毒，其中有一种突变使一些人不会感染这种病毒。它实际上已经成为极少数已治愈的HIV患者的治疗关键。

What’s going on inside people who have never gotten Covid?

从未感染过新冠病毒的人的身体里发生了什么？

We don’t know for sure.

我们不确定。

One way for the body to be resistant to a virus is through genetic mutations. So, for example, the coronavirus needs what’s called an ACE2 receptor on a cell in order to latch on to it. If you have a mutation in that particular receptor, then the virus can’t get into your cells and can’t infect you. But that kind of mutation is likely to be pretty rare.

人体抵抗病毒的一种方法是通过基因突变。例如，新冠病毒需要和细胞上一种叫做ACE2的受体结合才能进入。如果你的这个特定受体发生突变，那么病毒就无法进入你的细胞，也无法感染你。但这种突变可能非常罕见。

Genetics also plays a role in how severely people get sick. Some people have mutations in the innate immune system, which is like the first responder part of your immune system and is pretty generic. More specific reactions, like antibodies for a particular virus, appear later in an infection.

基因在人们生病的严重程度方面也发挥着作用。有些人的先天免疫系统发生突变，这就像是免疫系统里的应急反应，是一般性的。更具体的反应，如针对特定病毒的抗体，在感染后过段时间才会出现。

We know now that people who have mutations in that first responder system tend to have very severe disease. So the flip side is also likely to be true: Some people may have mutations that prevent them from getting infected at all.

我们现在知道，在那个应急系统中发生突变的人，往往会患上非常严重的疾病。因此，相反的情况也可能真的存在：有些人的突变可能使他们完全不被感染。

Couldn’t they just be asymptomatic?

他们会不会只是无症状？

People who are asymptomatic are still infected. The virus is in their bodies, but they have no visible symptoms, or really mild symptoms. That’s very different from what we’re talking about here — somebody who doesn’t get infected at all. But it’s been really difficult for researchers to home in on the difference between these two groups, because so many people have been infected by now.

没有症状的人仍然是受到感染的。病毒在他们体内，但他们没有明显的症状，或者症状非常轻微。我们现在说的是截然不同的情况，这些是完全没有被感染的人。但研究人员很难弄清楚这两组之间的区别，因为现在有太多人被感染了。

What do you mean?

这是什么意思？

There were a lot of people who thought, “Oh, I’m immune to the virus.” I’ve even had friends say that to me: “I haven’t gotten it yet. Scientists should study me.” Some researchers did begin studying people who had not gotten Covid. But then Omicron came along and infected nearly everyone. Some scientists were very frustrated because they basically had to start over. On the other hand, those people were not “never Coviders” anyway. So the studies may take longer, but they’ll be based on people who truly can’t get infected.

有很多人想，“哦，我对这种病毒免疫了。”甚至有朋友对我说：“我还没得过。科学家们应该研究我。”一些研究人员确实开始研究未感染新冠病毒的人。但随后奥密克戎出现并感染了几乎所有人。一些科学家非常沮丧，因为他们基本上不得不重新开始。另一方面，这些人无论如何都不是“永不感染者”。因此，研究可能需要更长的时间，但研究将基于真正不会被感染的人。

Some scientists are studying health care workers and caregivers who really should have gotten infected because they had such high exposure, but didn’t. The idea is that knowing what causes somebody to not get infected might help us figure out treatments for infection.

一些科学家正在研究没有被感染的医护人员和护理人员，他们接触病毒的频率非常高，本应受到感染。科学家认为，了解导致某人未被感染的原因可能有助于我们找出感染的治疗方法。

How many true “never Coviders” are there?

有多少真正的“永不感染者”？

We don’t know because there are so many unknowns. We don’t know if all the people who say they haven’t gotten it yet really haven’t had it, or had it and didn’t know. We also don’t know if they’ve just been incredibly careful and so the virus just hasn’t had a chance to infect them yet.

我们不知道，因为有太多的未知数。我们不知道那些说自己还没得过新冠的人是真的没有得过，还是已经得过但不知道自己得过。我们也不知道他们是否特别注意，所以病毒还没有机会感染他们。

Also, things got complicated after the vaccines were introduced because the vaccines gave some immunity against infection. But the actual number of people who are totally immune to the virus, for whatever reason, is probably pretty small.

还有，引入疫苗后情况变得复杂了，因为疫苗提供了一定的抵抗感染的免疫力。但无论出于何种原因，对该病毒完全免疫的实际人数可能非常少。

What if I’ve never been infected?

如果我从未被感染怎么办？

If you haven’t gotten it yet, that’s wonderful and you’re lucky, either because you’re genetically lucky or because you’ve managed to dodge the virus. But I wouldn’t assume that you are naturally resistant and throw all precautions to the wind. The chances you’re naturally immune are fairly low. And as Omicron shows, it may be that you just haven’t met the right variant yet.

如果你还没有感染过，那真好，你很幸运，要么是因为你在基因上很幸运，要么是因为你成功躲过了病毒。但我不会假设你天生就有抵抗力，继而把所有的预防措施都抛到九霄云外。你拥有自然免疫的概率相当低。正如奥密克戎让我们看到的那样，你可能只是还没有遇到相应的变体。

Your ‘never Covid’ experiences

你的“从未感染新冠”的经历

We asked you how you think you might have avoided Covid so far, and got over 10,000 responses.

我们向人们询问到目前为止是如何避免感染新冠的，收到了超过1万份回复。

“I spent the pandemic taking care of a friend with cancer and avoided everyone just to focus on him and make him feel safe. He passed away in February and I started going out again and seeing new people, but I still haven’t caught it! Either I am immune or I have a Covid guardian angel (him).” — Jessica Choe, Brooklyn, N.Y.

“在大流行病期间，我一直在照顾一位患有癌症的朋友，为了集中精力关照他并让他感到安全，我避开了所有人。他在2月去世后，我又开始外出见新朋友，但我还是没有感染过！要么我免疫，要么我有一个新冠守护天使（他）。”——来自纽约布鲁克林的杰西卡·崔

“Healthy constitution. Rarely got colds or flu even before the pandemic, plus early precautions, masking, vaccines, boosters, working from home and luck. Two and a half years with nary a sniffle, so we’ve given up our masks, dine indoors, socialize and party regularly now. Probably jinxing myself as I type.” — Katherine Fife, Davis, Calif.

“靠的是健康的体质。甚至在大流行之前我就很少感冒或得流感，再加上早期的预防措施，口罩、疫苗、加强针、居家办公和运气。两年半没有流过鼻涕，所以我们现在已经不戴口罩了，在室内用餐、社交和聚会。也许这些说多了会给我带来霉运。”——来自加利福尼亚州戴维斯的凯瑟琳·法夫

“I think neither my husband nor I have caught Covid mostly due to luck. We don’t have kids. We maintain a small, close circle of friends that shared the same views on how best to navigate the pandemic. We also had the benefit of living in Wyoming at the start of the pandemic, a place that isn’t densely populated. We’ve since moved to Okinawa, Japan, and have become embedded in a culture that prioritizes public health and welfare over the individual. Mask-wearing is normal here, making it easier for us to continue the habits that have kept us safe and healthy these past almost three years.” — Jillian, Okinawa, Japan

“我认为我和我丈夫都没有感染新冠病毒主要是因为运气。我们没有孩子。我们有一个小而亲密的朋友圈，我们对如何尽可能应对这一流行病有着相同的看法。我们也有幸在大流行开始时住在怀俄明州，那里人口不密集。后来，我们搬到了日本冲绳，并融入了一种将公共卫生和福利置于个人之上的文化。过去三年来，我们的习惯让我们保持安全健康，在这里，戴口罩很正常，让我们更容易延续过去的习惯。”——来自日本冲绳的吉莲

“I have no idea. Stupid luck? Providence? l quarantined in the basement when my husband had it (mildly) in January 2021. He now suffers from PASC, or long Covid, and it has forever changed and devastated our lives.” — Malia Schaefer, Cincinnati

“我不知道。傻人有傻福？神的眷顾？我丈夫在2021年1月（轻度）感染时，我被隔离在地下室。他现在患有PASC，也就是长新冠，这永远改变和摧毁了我们的生活。”——来自辛辛那提的玛丽亚·谢弗

“Because I’m immunocompromised, I knew I had to do everything I could to not get infected. In the first year of the pandemic, I almost exclusively lived in quarantine. From then on, I always worked with an FFP2 mask, never took the bus or train, was never in the supermarket without a mask and avoided places with a high risk of infection. I have all vaccinations. Even today, I always wear a mask in public facilities. Those around me tried keeping me safe, always testing themselves before they came to see me. I am very grateful for that.” — Julia Litschke, Essen, Germany

“因为我免疫功能受损，我知道必须尽我所能不被感染。在大流行的第一年，我几乎完全生活在隔离中。从那以后，我一直戴着FFP2口罩工作，从不坐公交车和火车，去超市一定戴口罩，避免去感染风险高的地方。我已经接种完毕。即使在今天，我在公共场所也始终戴着口罩。我周围的人努力保护我的安全，在来看我之前总是先自我检测。我对此非常感激。”——来自德国埃森的朱莉娅·利奇克

“I was sent home to WFH early in the pandemic because I had just finished chemo and radiation. I’ve been working remotely for two years now. I also got the vaccine as soon as it was available. I’ve gotten every booster, including the bivalent vaccine. My mask protocol is: Check your surroundings. Is there a ceiling? Wear a mask. Is there a crowd? Wear a mask. Neither? Take it off. That being said, I suspect I have been infected but was asymptomatic or mistook it for an allergy.” — Kim Haas, Pittsburgh

“在大流行初期，我被要求居家办公，因为我刚刚完成化疗和放疗。我已经远程工作两年了。疫苗刚出来，我就接种了。每一个加强针我都打了，包括二价疫苗。我的口罩规则是：检查周围环境。有天花板吗？有就戴上口罩。有人群吗？有就戴上口罩。两者都没有？那就不戴。话虽这么说，我怀疑我已经感染过，但没有症状或误认为是过敏。”——来自匹兹堡的金·哈斯