White Plains man recovers after contracting COVID-19 for 2nd time

Eric Yaverbaum says he did take precautions because his first round of the virus last March landed him in the hospital.

News 12 Staff

Mar 24, 2021, 10:00 PM

Updated 1,344 days ago

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A White Plains man is recovering after contracting COVID-19 for the second time.
Eric Yaverbaum says he did take precautions because his first round of the virus last March landed him in the hospital.
"I wondered when I was taking a breath, 'Am I going to get the next one in, am I taking my last breath?'" he says.
Yaverbaum isn't sure where he contracted COVID the first time, but he did spend time in New Rochelle just as the city became the country's first coronavirus hotspot.
He tells News 12 he wonders how long he has the antibodies, or how long the antibodies last.
Dr. Donald Chen, an infectious disease specialist at Westchester Medical Center, says antibodies appear to last between six months to a year.
It's still unclear if they protect against different strains. Yaverbaum contracted the more contagious U.K. strain the second time around.
"We've also learned there is a lot to learn because as soon as we become more familiar with something it does then we see another thing the virus can do when you get ill with it," says Chen.
This is why Yaverbaum, who now qualifies for a vaccine, says he's not hesitating to get some added protection.
He is currently in quarantine but feeling much better. He's testing for COVID-19 Thursday and hopes to get a negative result.