“I was taking off my mask all the time just so they could see my face,” Strickland said. “That would help us get [an oxygen] mask on them and help us treat them.”
Strickland was tested weekly for coronavirus. She never tested positive. When her volunteer stint ended, she also took an antibody test that showed no evidence of a prior infection.
Neither of Strickland’s parents have had the virus, nor has her twin sister who works as a primary care doctor. When both she and one of her twin sons managed to evade illness even after her other son endured a covid infection inside their 1,200-square-foot house, Strickland began to suspect she may have a natural immunity to the virus. So she sought out the scientific study looking at the genetic makeup of people like her who never contracted the coronavirus despite repeated exposures.
“I really do feel hopeful that they’re going to see some kind of similarity, some kind of gene in our DNA,” Strickland said.
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