After fighting off cases of Covid-19, Danielle Vito and her husband needed a break. When they tested positive for antibodies, they decided to take a trip to Mexico in July. “That played a big factor when I was traveling,” says Ms. Vito, a 28-year-old social media marketer. “It gives a little sense of hope that you will be safer.”
People who have recovered from Covid-19 are starting to venture back into the world, often with a greater confidence to pursue normal activities than people who haven’t had it. They’re taking trips, eating indoors at restaurants and visiting friends. In many cases, people who recovered believe they have a degree of immunity and are less likely to get or spread the illness.
Scientists studying Covid still have much to learn about immunity. Doctors generally believe that recovered patients do have some protection against reinfection, but it’s unclear how long that lasts. Because of that, public health experts caution that people who have had the virus should remain vigilant.
For some, anxiety lingers. “Even with antibodies, I don’t feel comfortable being in a large group,” says Ms. Vito. She wore a mask while flying, and tried to keep a distance from other travelers at the resort. “I wanted to socially distance from everyone, eat guacamole and get tan,” she says.
Others feel a greater sense of freedom. “There’s a perception, particularly among people who had mild infections, that they are done after this,” says Preeti Malani, chief health officer at the University of Michigan. Her counsel remains the same: “Act like you could get it again.”
Psychologically, some people who have survived a dangerous and unpredictable illness feel an urge to relax and rejoice. “They are going to come out wanting to be more adventurous,” says Angela Drake, a clinical psychologist at the University of California Davis, who notes the tendency is more prevalent among people who had milder cases.
Monica Schick went paddleboarding and kayaking after testing positive for antibodies.
Photo: Monica SchickAfter testing positive for antibodies following a 10-day fight with Covid in June, Monica Schick went to stay with a friend in Sacramento, Calif., to paddleboard and kayak. The getaway to her friend’s “tiny place” left little room for social distancing, says the 37-year-old. But after testing negative for Covid and positive for antibodies—and getting health-official clearance to return to work after a two-week quarantine—she felt confident that she wouldn’t infect others. “The stress is gone,” says Ms. Schick, who is a consultant and lives in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
Around strangers, she still wears a mask and practices social distancing. But she says she’s no longer afraid. “I already rode the wave, and now I’m here on the other side.”
Los Angeles stuntman Shawn Balentine recently had friends over to his home for the first time since getting sick with Covid in April. He wanted to do something memorable. “I’m living my life now,” says Mr. Balentine. “You have to have fun with it.”
So he set up a celebratory jump from his second-story apartment balcony. He jumped first, into a pile of cardboard boxes. Then his friends jumped too. As a precaution, he sprayed the boxes with disinfectant after his jump and wore a mask. He says he doesn’t believe he will spread it to his friends, and he’s not sure what to believe about immunity. He says doctors told him he was lucky and to “go enjoy” but cautioned him to “be smart about it, wear your mask.”
After recovering from Covid, Donald Stevens, a 34-year-old music therapist from White Plains, N.Y., brought his family to dine indoors for the first time since March. “I wanted the feeling of sitting inside of a restaurant,” says Mr. Stevens. “I feel free now.”
He ordered battered fries, teriyaki chicken, broccoli and asked for some of his wife’s Philly cheesesteak. “We’ve been doing the curbside and the takeout—and the food doesn’t taste the same,” he says. He still avoids shaking people’s hands and hugging, and wears a mask when he goes out. He says the restaurant staff took precautions including mask-wearing.
Some people who have had Covid still face hesitation from friends and family. After decamping to a beach town in South Carolina, New Yorker Dani Wachter looks forward to an early morning swim in the subdivision of her rental each morning. After 18 days of 102-degree fever in June, she feels more comfortable being out. “If I hadn’t had it yet, I would probably stay away from a communal pool,” says Ms. Wachter, a 31-year-old project manager for a production company. “I’m finally enjoying myself.”
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‘If I hadn’t had it yet, I would probably stay away from a communal pool,’ says Dani Wachter.
Photo: Dani WachterShe knows it’s possible she could get reinfected, but feels “it’s highly unlikely.” She still takes the risk seriously, wearing a mask and washing her hands. And her doctor has said she can socialize and travel, Ms. Wachter says. But friends and family remain apprehensive. “People are scared to be around me, the fear has kind of flipped,” she says.
Robyn Price of Jupiter, Fla., had similar concerns about her friends’ reactions. After a mild case of Covid-19, the 26-year-old artist and graphic designer was less worried about reinfection, but still anxious about potentially putting friends at risk. She says doctors told her that if she had no symptoms after a quarantine period, she could resume permitted activities following the standard Covid precautions.
When she finally ventured out to a party in a friend’s backyard, she wore a mask and scribbled a warning on a mailing label that she stuck to the front of her shirt before she arrived. It read: “I love you, but please don’t touch me.”
Write to Alina Dizik at alina.dizik@wsj.com
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