The fear of reinfection always comes along with the covid-19 infection. Reinfection of novel coronavirus is possible and it’s scary as well. But the good news is that reinfection may take at least eight months. This has been revealed by a new research.
A new study has shown that having COVID-19 may offer some protection against future infections. Researchers found that people who made antibodies to the coronavirus were much less likely to check positive again for up to 6 months and perhaps longer.
The results promise well for vaccines, which provoke the immune system to make antibodies and substances that attach to a virus and help it be eliminated.
Effectiveness Of Antibodies From Natural Covid-19 Infections
Researchers found that people with antibodies from natural infections were “at much lower risk … on the order of an equivalent quite protection you’d get from an efficient vaccine,” of getting the virus again, said Dr. Ned Sharpless, director of the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
“It’s very, very rare” to urge reinfected, he said.
Though the institute’s study had nothing to do with cancer while, many federal researchers have shifted to coronavirus work because of the pandemic.
Both the studies used two different types of tests. One is a blood test for antibodies, which can remain for many months after infection. The other sort of test uses nasal or other samples to detect the virus itself or bits of it, suggesting current or recent infection.
One study, published Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine, involved more than 12,500 health workers at Oxford University Hospitals in the United Kingdom.
Among the 1,265 who had coronavirus antibodies at the outset, only two had positive results on tests to detect active infection in the following six months and neither developed symptoms.
That contrasts with the 11,364 workers who initially did not have antibodies; 223 of them tested positive for infection in the roughly six months that followed.
“There Is Still A Chance …”
The National Cancer Institute study involved more than 3 million people who had antibody tests from two private labs in the United States. Only 0.3% of those who initially had antibodies later tested positive for the coronavirus, compared with 3% of those who lacked such antibodies.
“It’s very gratifying” to see that the Oxford researchers saw the same risk reduction — 10 times less likely to have a second infection if antibodies were present, Sharpless said.
Joshua Wolf, an infectious disease specialist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis who had no role in either study said, “The findings are not a surprise … but it’s really reassuring because it tells people that immunity to the virus is common.”
Antibodies themselves might not be giving the protection, they could just be a symbol that other parts of the system, like T cells, are ready to repel any new exposures to the virus, he said.
“We don’t skills long-lasting this immunity is,” Wolf added. Cases of individuals getting COVID-19 quite once are confirmed, so “people still got to protect themselves by preventing reinfection.”
Covid-19 – What Are Antibodies And what’s Their Function?
When an epidemic infects a number of people, it invades the host cells and replicates (makes copies of itself). One way that our system protects us is to get rid of the virus from the body before it gets the prospect to infect a cell. The system has cells called B lymphocytes which make proteins called antibodies. Antibodies recognise invading pathogens like viruses and bind to them. Then the antibodies neutralise or destroy the virus in order that it can’t infect the host cell.
B lymphocytes also form memory cells which “remember” the pathogen. This enables the host to supply antibodies faster if there’s an infection by that virus within the future.
Why It’s Still Essential To Take Precautions
There have been several instances where patients were confirmed to be COVID positive only after multiple testing. These initial false negatives are not only dangerous for the patient, but they also run the risk of increasing community transmission.
All you’ve got to try to to is to take care of and follow the pandemic restrictions. Never leave your house without wearing a mask properly. Keep your hands clean and wash them repeatedly to stop the spread of the virus. Also, do not ignore any of the symptoms.
